


Critical Role:  A Forgotten Exandrian Tale

by Vergil1989



Category: Critical Role (Web Series), Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game)
Genre: Action, Action/Adventure, Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bahamut (D&D), Bane (D&D), Blood and Gore, Canon-Typical Violence, Clerics, Comedy, Corellon Larethian (D&D), Dark Elves, Demons, Dragonborn (D&D), Drama, Drow, Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, Elves, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Explicit Language, F/F, F/M, Fantasy, Gen, Gnomes, Half-Elves, Halflings, Magic, Magical Artifacts, Multi, Multiple Pairings, Near Death Experiences, Past Relationship(s), Rangers, Romance, Sacred Prostitute, Scars, Sex Magic, Sorceresses, Sune (D&D), The Book of Erotic Fantasy, Tragedy, Tragedy/Comedy, Vampires, Wizards, mentions of torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-18
Updated: 2016-07-10
Packaged: 2018-07-15 18:04:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 77,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7233049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vergil1989/pseuds/Vergil1989
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Two elves, as different from night is to day, find themselves in the world of Exandria after a rather unique god takes an unhealthy interest in their lives. Dropping them inexplicably in this new world, they travel the land, and eventually come across a group of well known adventurers that call themselves Vox Machina. The insanity that follows only the gods could ever foresee.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Episode 1.1:  Mercered

**Authors' Notes** : _It's been a very long time guys and gals, but_ _ **Archer83**_ _has returned, to an extent. As such, and our shared, rather nerd level love for Critical Role, we thought we'd give this little tale a shot together. We hope you all enjoy, and we hope to capture the charm and hilarity that is the trademark of Vox Machina and their many strange and wondrous adventures. See ya!_

_And just so we're clear from the get go, we're not going to be doing an exact copy of the show. That'd be boring and pointless, needless to say, so if you're expecting a word for word, look elsewhere._

**Disclaimer:** _All of the characters from Critical Role and those inspired by the awesome show itself belong to their respective owners, as do all the worlds, lore, and everything else. Dungeons and Dragons and their variants also belong to their respective owners, mostly Wizards of the Sword Coast. Any Original Characters and their ilk however belong to us, but we're not making any money off of this, so I doubt there'd be a problem. This is just for the hell of it, and because we love the world of Exandria and its denizens quite a bit. At any rate, enjoy folks!_

**Prologue**

Gods, they stick their noses wherever they please, and none too subtly screw over their mortal pawns as they so desire. Some of the more benevolent gods are nice about it for the most part, while some of the more chaotic minded entities out there are downright malicious, but all of them share the same need to pick on us mortals for their own reasons, that are so far beyond us, or so most of them would claim, that we'd never be able to comprehend those reasons. If you want my opinion though, they just like to think they're smarter than us, but such is the arrogance of godly beings I suppose, even the ones that work with mortals in a far more helpful sense than some of their far more evil counterparts.

Giselle

_Hello dear readers, you are cordially invited to partake of one such tale. And though I dislike the author's haughty tone, I will allow it. So dear authors... how do you want to do this?_

_Mercer, the god of exploration and master of dungeons_

**Episode 1.1: Mercered**

Tal'Dorie, the main continent of Exandria, is home to many of the world's more civilized regions. The dwarven stronghold of Kraghammer in the northern mountain reaches, nestled in the Cliftkeep Mountains, while the west, on the edge of the Ozmit Sea, resides the capital city of Emon. The south holds the ever cold, ever frigid Frostweald, just north of the Stormcrest Mountains. The east is mostly empty plains and fields as far as the eye can see, but the few towns of note, of which Westruun is one of the more well known of the bunch, can be found after a few days of hard riding. Our story however, begins on the edge of Emon, with two lone wandering souls, far further from home than most could ever claim. Of course, such claims couldn't be made without someone with divinity backing them up, sticking their holier than thou's nose in their affairs, and throwing their lives into disarray on a whim.

Dark almond eyes gazed out over the sprawling metropolis, unimpressed with its gilded glory. The newcomer and her gentle companion had seen far more incredible sights in their time together. Emon _was_ beautiful, in its way, true, but the taller of the two, by only a few measly inches, still wasn't impressed by the sight before her as they stood on a large hill overlooking the area. The slightly shorter of the two was a little more wide eyed than her dark skinned companion, but that was nothing new for them. They were as different as fire and water, yet they had been together for years, and were the stronger for their mutual partnership. A partnership that had morphed into an unbreakable bond of friendship.

That didn't stop the annoyed tone in the taller of the two elven women's voice. "Why did I let you talk me into yet another stupidly dangerous plan?" The older of the two elven women asked, her almond orbs remaining fixed on the road ahead of them even as she addressed her longtime companion. Despite her audible annoyance, there were few places she'd have rather been than beside the wood elven cleric on her right despite the trouble they often got into, or more accurately, or so the speaker liked to point out, that the cleric attracted to herself like flies to shit.

"How exactly is this any worse than our usual mornings?" The light skinned elf asked her far darker skinned counterpart, her blue eyes flicking towards the left as she did. No sooner had the words left her mouth, did the cleric's armored boot fall into a puddle of mud, and she looked down, aghast at the sight of the muck now clinging to her boot.

"Thank you for making my point." The dark elven woman deadpanned, her lips pulling up into a small smirk as her companion pouted at the teasing and the mud on her person. It was an old routine with them, she'd complain and groan about her companion's incessant need to get involved with anything that took her interest or demanded she do her best to correct, the dark elf would argue about the practicality of it, let alone the danger often associated with whatever mission the cleric had talked her into undertaking, but it was just how they were. They shared far more than most people would have ever guessed, and their willingness to fight for the right reasons, of taking down evil and monsters wherever they found them, was just one of many things they shared a passion for.

"You'll thank me when we have a soft bed to sleep in and coin to spare soon enough." The cleric countered, earning an amused snort from the ranger for her trouble even as the wood elf stomped her now mud splattered boot into the dry grass in an effort to shake off as much as the offensive muck as she could. "How often is it that a ranger argues with a cleric over creature comforts and how to gain them?" The light skinned elf asked, her blue eyes gleaming in good cheer as a strong breeze tugged at her tightly bound brown locks, ruffling a few stray hairs over her fair face.

"Not as often as the cleric would like." The ranger noted as she started down the hill, her stride as silent as it was confident, a pair of twin, wickedly sharp scimitars, looped through an old, but sturdy, leather belt on her hips that swayed with every step. The right hand blade had the hilt and jewel encrusted pommel, made of black adamantite, carved into the likeness of a hunting cat's open, fang filled mouth, with the heavily enchanted blade coming out of the cat's maw. Her left however, had a star-cut azure sapphire on its pommel. While ultimately far simpler in its design compared to its companion, the blade bore its own powerful enchantments that weren't to be underestimated. An old, dark green, worn traveling cloak followed and billowed in her wake. Old, worn brown leather boots adorned her feet, splattered with mud and dirt, but such was the case when you traveled as extensively as she did.

Her fairer, lighter skinned companion however, was far more clean and proper looking than she'd ever be. Not that there was a contest there, but one couldn't help but notice the stark contrasts when they were side by side that went beyond the physical. Like most rangers, the dark elf was adorned in simple, but sturdy, brown leather armor that clung and moved to her tall, slender frame as easily as a second skin. Her silver gray hair was bound in a long ponytail which fell down to the middle of her cloak covered back.

As for the wood elven cleric though, she was dressed from the neck down in heavy, elven mithril armor platemail that clanked and clunked with every step. Unlike the ranger however, not a speck of dirt or mud clung to any of it, with the exception of her boot, leaving her with an almost polished sheen that caught the light of the morning sun very beautifully. The cleric had a large, one handed kite shield that had a silver crescent moon emblazoned proudly on its dull gray surface on her back, and a long sword, the hilt in the shape of an intricate series of rays emanating from a matching silver crescent moon, their sharply pointed edges pointing upwards towards the softly glowing blade, on her right hip, sheathed firmly and attached to a brown leather belt much like her dark skinned companion's own. Both women had matching, well worn and traveled backpacks on their backs as well, holding their few possessions as well as their supplies, such as they were.

Unsurprisingly though, at least for them anyway, their shared, good cheer evaporated almost instantly when they were stopped at the main gates to Emon by a heavily armored city guard in red and gold robes. "Oy! Who goes there? What the 'ell... State your business or piss off back the way ya came, _Drow_." And as was expected, the guard took one look at the dark skinned elf and did a double take before jabbing his spear in her face. The ranger only rolled her eyes and let her far more, fair tempered friend handle the man and the prejudice he brought to bear in her direction. For the ranger, it was an old song and dance, one that had little power over her in most cases.

Without wasting time, the sun kissed elven woman offered the guard her best, charming smile and stepped a little closer than proprietary normally allowed, especially on first meetings, and soon had the guard's full attention. Already, the dark elf could see how easily her beautiful friend had entranced the city guard long before she started to speak. There was no enchantment or magical illusion though, her friend didn't rely on such cheap tricks, the cleric just knew how to talk to people, how to throw them off, and the city guardsman before them had no idea how persuasive she could be when the need came up. She had that effect on almost everyone though, so it came as no surprise to the ranger her charms were as effective as ever. "Greetings good sir, my... bodyguard and I merely wish to explore your grand city, and perhaps find a night's lodging somewhere other than on hard packed earth and stone."

The guardsman had no chance against such a practiced, if gentle, hand despite the fact both of them had the look of hardened warriors that had seen many miles and hardships together. It was all he could do not to let all the blood rush out of his face as he grinned and stammered out a response. "Um, ah... yeah sure. Whatever you wish my lady, just keep your drow bitch in line eh? Last thing we need is more trouble."

"Oh don't worry, she's exceedingly well trained, aren't you my pet?" Before even a hint of outrage could show on her face, the light elf kissed her dark companion deeply. The muffled yelp of surprise was a nice bonus as both Drow and guard about fainted for different reasons before the wood elf pulled back, a mischievous gleam in her blue eyes as she turned to the guard.

As far as persuasion methods went, it was unique, to be sure, but it had the desired effect as the guard tripped all over himself to get the gates opened for the pair of elves. The gates of Emon slowly swung open at last once the signal was given to the gatehouse guards on either side of the passage, and the two elves were allowed entry with a muttered, still somewhat confused sounding blessing from the man the cleric had thoroughly confounded, following on their heels.

When she was able to think coherently, and in complete sentences, again, the ranger made a mental note to get some measure of sweet, sweet revenge for the underhanded trick on her long time friend's part. While she was a ranger, which meant a fair fight was rarely in the cards whenever violence ensued, but even she hadn't expected that from the wood elf at her side. To make matters worse, the cleric was still smiling mischievously as she turned, the same gleam in her eyes as bright as ever. "There seems to be something wrong with your face, I see a bit of color that isn't dirt or blood related." The ranger could only shake her head and mutter something less than flattering in response to the teasing, which had a musical peal of laughter escaping the wood elf. "Oh, quit sulking Giselle, it does not become you."

Giselle's deadpanned response had the wood elf giggling sweetly once more. "Neria, old friend? Kiss my heart shaped rear end." The moment the words left her mouth however, the ranger knew she had made a mistake, because the wood elf's lips quirked up into a full on grin.

"Right this very moment, or shall we find a bit of privacy first?" Neria asked, and promptly giggled softly yet again when Giselle slapped a hand over her face.

"Ugh, I forgot, I shouldn't joke about such intimate matters with the likes of you. I'll just end up losing every time." She groaned, before letting her hand fall to her hip with a sigh.

"I can only hope you are able to fare better during our latest audience with the Sovereign." Neria replied, but despite the teasing grin still plastered on her perfectly round, amber skinned face, her companion could see she was a little nervous for their future appointment with the Sovereign, Uriel, and his ruling council. Of course, what reasoning person wouldn't be a little nervous when faced with such a powerful man, in his own home no less?

"Hence the stupidly dangerous plan. One wrong step and you'll have us in a less than ideal spot. Which of course I'll have to spring us from... again." Despite the fact she had had to do just that on more than one occasion, Giselle put her arm over her friend's armored shoulders and offered her a reassuring look. Neria leaned into her friend's embrace and relaxed into her side, grateful for the silent reassurance despite the complaints that had preceded it. "We'll be fine. You had that guard eating out of your palm with just a wink and a smile. Uriel doesn't have a chance."

"We first have to get to the Cloudtop district, which is heavily guarded if you'll recall." Neria was quick to remind Giselle, who only shrugged as she let the cleric pull away from the arm she had put over her shoulders. The Cloudtop district of Emon was reserved for the upper class of the city, and like a gated community, not just anyone was allowed to wander about as they pleased. Only those on official business for the city, such as reputable mercenaries or visiting dignitaries, to name just two examples, were allowed in the district.

"So, knock out a couple guards and disguise ourselves it is." When Neria's blue eyes widened in alarm and she gave her a worried look, Giselle was quick to hold her hands up in a placating gesture. "I was joking Neria….although it would be a simple thing for me, at a distance at least." She was quick to mutter under her breath, while Neria sighed this time and shook her head in resignation.

"We could just introduce ourselves like _normal_ people. We aren't so unknown to this world that we couldn't ask to be allowed in." The wood elf muttered back, just as Giselle shoved her back to the side of the cobblestoned path as a richly adorned carriage barreled down the street at a breakneck, reckless pace that had the people on either side of the street scrambling back in alarm.

Once the immediate crisis had passed, a stream of curses coming from the carriage's driver that neither elf paid any attention to, Giselle snorted and rolled her eyes in response. "That is so boring though, Neria. I like my plan better."

"And you say I'm the reason we get into trouble so often." Neria replied, before both women shared a laugh and started on their way towards the upper reaches of the grand capital of Tal'Dorie.

"Halt, what business do you have in the Cloudtop District?" One of the three guards before an intricate, metal wrought gate demanded, leveling a pike in the pair's direction.

"We're here on business for the Sovereign, Uriel. We've returned to collect a bounty." The ranger stated, and slowly stuck her hand into a leather satchel on her right hip, mindful of the scimitar hilt, as was the guard as he tensed a little when her hand got close to the weapon, revealing the hint of a rather large skull that, under normal circumstances, shouldn't have fit into the bag. But her satchel was a Bag of Holding, allowing for the storage of a fair amount of items that otherwise wouldn't have fit as they were stored in an extra dimensional space.

"Ah, the wyvern that was terrorizing some of our outlying villages. I'll need your names, before I allow you to enter the Cloudtop." The guard stated in turn, which earned a nod from the ranger. It was simple procedure, and she had no problem with a guard simply doing his job. It only became a problem, as far as her opinion was concerned at least, when it got in the way of common sense and there was far more important things to worry about than proper procedure.

But this was a simple mission, and one they had done well, so she was more than willing to play along with the normal running of things here in the city. "Giselle Do'Urden and Neria Zathrial." Giselle was tempted to say more at her friend's expense, but held her tongue for the moment. As much as she teased the cleric about some of her….divine empowered magic, she couldn't count the number of times the wood elf had saved her life.

"Very well. Wait here while I take this up the chain of command." Giving a few quick orders to the two guards on either side of the gate, the man with the pike waited only a moment once the way was clear, and made his way up to the palace that was just visible on its own high hill off in the distance, behind a large, stone and metallic guard wall.

It wasn't long after that that Giselle heard one of the two gate guards whisper something to his companion. Her ears twitched ever so subtly, a subtle clue to her longtime companion. Neria nodded and said nothing as Giselle listened in on what was said. "What's a Drow doin' here with that pretty elf?"

"Don't know, can't be nothin' good though." The other man muttered in response and gave the first speaker a shrug for emphasis.

"Whatever I damn well li-" Giselle started to say, but Neria, in typical peacekeeping fashion, slapped a hand over her mouth before she could draw further attention her way.

"Loyally following by my side, of course." Neria quickly said, and gave her friend a placating look while the guard that had spoken up blanched when he realized he'd been overheard.

"Right..." Giselle growled, giving into the glance from Neria. It wasn't for her that she got so easily annoyed by the less than reasonable people like the guards, but rather for Neria that she got worked up over being given such suspicious glances. Giselle knew what she was, what it represented to most that didn't know her story, her goodly demeanor, in this world or the one they had come from, so when racial prejudice was thrown in her face, she let it slide off her shoulders without a worry or care. But when it got in the way of her friend, when that hatred and fear was extended to Neria just because she associated with her, that's when it became a problem for her as well.

"That's a good dog." The guard snickered under his breath, only Neria's strong grip on her arm kept Giselle from doing anything they'd regret.

"Let it go, he knows nothing." She whispered softly, so softly that only Giselle could hear her. Giselle nodded and relaxed, but that didn't stop the ranger from glaring at the guards. Neria sighed since this was another old song for them, one they could have done without, but she smiled warmly at her friend's attempt to keep her honor intact, albeit in her uniquely heavy handed fashion.

"I need to kill something... after we get this sorted." Giselle whispered back, her tone curt and annoyed with the moronic guards not ten feet away.

"Would a 'little death' satisfy your cravings?" Neria gently teased, enjoying the sight of her stoic ranger blushing twice in the same day. Before she could come up with a response, Neria saw Giselle look over her shoulder and nod to the gate, just as the guard that had wandered up to the palace make his way back down to them.

"My apologies, that took longer than expected. You're clear to enter so long as you don't cause any trouble."

"It is no trouble, your companions were perfect gentlemen." Neria replied sweetly, which earned an uncomfortable sounding cough from the man on the right side of the gate. Giselle had to bite her tongue, suddenly overcome with the desire to chuckle since there were few people she knew that could make a perfectly pleasant sounding statement sound like a scathing insult.

The pike wielding guard didn't miss the uncomfortable glances his two underlings exchanged with each other and frowned deeply as he addressed the elven women. It didn't take a genius to know what had likely occurred in his absence. "Most people are fools, while others actually care to look beyond the surface. I'm sorry that you had to deal with the former Lady Do'Urden."

Giselle offered a silent nod of respect, mildly surprised that the man was a bit more open minded than most they encountered in their travels. As such, the dark elven ranger offered the man a small smile on her way past. "It is something you get used to after a while, but it's always a nice surprise, finding people like you in the world. My only problem I have with the unfortunately well earned reputation of my kin, and the racial prejudice that often follows, is when it extends to my good friend here simply because she chooses to travel with me."

"A wise, enlightened view of the world. I hope you never have reason to let it go." The guard said as they made their way past.

"As do I." Giselle whispered under her breath, words that only Neria heard as they left the guards and the gate behind. The mood that had soured somewhat brightened almost as quickly once they had left the guarded gate behind. The populated, upper class streets of the Cloudtop District, well maintained and paved with more than a few colorful flower gardens, situated before the ornately decorated houses on every side, had a far more pleasant air about it than the middle and lower sections of the city they had passed through that morning thus far.

Despite the peaceful setting, that didn't stop Giselle from darting her almond eyes at every darkened alleyway and every shadowy corner. Neria blew out an annoyed breath at her old friend's well meaning paranoia. "Stop fidgeting. You look like you're expecting an ambush at any moment."

"Because I am, as should you. Cities aren't exactly my favored terrain." Giselle groused as her gaze darted from rooftop, to alleyway, and back again. The simple fact that they had been ambushed a couple of times by would be thieves in the past, in cities much like this one, didn't help the ranger's opinion in the slightest.

"I know, but we won't be here longer than necessary." Neria reassured her.

"No, just long enough for us to find a couple of soft beds, a hot bath, and a warm meal, and not necessarily in that order." Giselle countered, unconvinced that staying in the city for an extended amount of time was a good idea.

"Exactly." Neria cheerfully replied, which had Giselle rolling her eyes but giving the cleric a quick, warm smile all the same.

A short while later, they found themselves being escorted to the Sovereign's throne room at a brisk pace. The throne room itself was almost as big as the palace grounds themselves, a giant glass ceiling, with a domed top that allowed an enormous amount of light into the room, was the first thing the eye fell upon. The rest of the throne room followed soon after, the eye naturally falling on the leader first and foremost for first time visitors. They had been to the palace a few times before, but the richly adorned chamber still managed to take even the somewhat taciturn Drow's breath away for a moment.

Sovereign Uriel, as was habit at this point anytime they met the man, was sitting on his grand throne, surrounded by his guards and a few members of his council. He had dark hair that was beginning to gray on both sides of his older, wrinkled if still handsome face. A well kept, gray streaked beard completed the image of the ruler of Emon, who was once more dressed in red and bronze-gold robes, much like the guards they had passed on their way up to the palace. "Ah, our lovely hunters have returned victorious yet again. And you honor me with a trophy I see." Giselle had chosen that moment to pull out the wyvern's horned head and hold it up for everyone to see. While it was unusual for wyverns to be so far inland, the few that made their way past Emon were still hardy opponents, and it took skilled adventurers much like themselves to handle the problem.

"We have, your Majesty." Giselle stated simply yet with a measure of respect few people had heard from her outside of close friends. One of the guards took the wyvern's head from her and brought it up to the man on his throne, who nodded his approval. "It was no easy task, but it wasn't outside of our ability to handle."

"As we can see. Your reward is well earned, along with our gratitude my lady." With a wave of his hand, a well dressed attendant stepped forward, bearing a small but heavy looking chest of gold cradled in his arms. Giselle looked to Neria, who did not respond visibly save to shrug at the Drow's inquisitive glance since she was fairly sure the chest of gold coins she put into her small Bag of Holding, was a little heavier than they had agreed upon when they had originally taken the job. Not that she was about to complain, but Giselle couldn't help but wonder, and not for the first time, if her friend's charms weren't magically assisted in some way after all. Whatever the truth of the matter, she didn't let it bug her overly much as they were soon dismissed, and were even given permission to wander about the Cloudtop District with Uriel's blessing. That surprised the Drow a little, but she didn't comment on it as they started to leave once their business was concluded. Earning the respect of the ruling members of the city would hopefully help them out in the long run, and make life a little easier for herself and Neria. And while it hadn't been their objective by any means, she wasn't about to turn down the extra aid that having the Tal'Dorie council in their favor would likely provide if they ever needed it.

Neria's little knowing smile she saw as they started for the door had Giselle chuckling under her breath since she didn't need to hear the wood elf say what was on her mind to know what it was. "Yes, we have some respectability now, now come off it."

"Oh don't be such a crab apple Giselle, we have reason to celebrate now that we're allowed to wander the upper district of the city." Neria was quick to point out, and despite her best efforts to point out the obvious, that they had _only_ been allowed to wander the Cloudtop District by Sovereign Uriel, Giselle conceded the point and shook her head as a smile started to tug at her lips. Neria pounced on her friend's change of mood, proudly declaring, "There we go! I knew you couldn't stay negative for long."

"You say that now, but just wait, our small streak of good fortune won't last." Neria's reply was to playfully shove at the Drow ranger at her side for her continued, if feigned, pessimism. Without missing a step, Giselle easily regained her balance and proceeded to ever so casually try and trip her long time friend by swinging her left leg forward in the cleric's path. Neria, for her part, only stumbled but didn't fall as she hastily moved to the side at the last second, a loud clanging following as her armored plates bunched against each other from the sudden movement. "Watch your step there."

"Oh, I'll get you back for th-" Both women stopped mid step, and mid sentence, when the doors opened to the throne room, and allowed the strangest group of people either of them had ever seen. At the head of the line was a young, at least in elven terms, dark haired man in a dark hood, which obscured his face in shadow, so much so even Giselle found it hard to penetrate what was underneath. What little they could see of it revealed the smooth cut of his jaw and his only partially angular features that were typical of all elves, regardless of origin, suggested he was only half elf. As for his chosen profession, the number of throwing knives on his belt and the all too practiced ease at which he moved silently screamed 'rogue' to the two hardened adventurers.

At his side was his twin if the eerily similar hair color and facial features were anything to go by, but unlike the rogue, the bow on her back and the armor wearing bear that brought up the rear suggested familiarity with the ranger arts, something Giselle could appreciate a great deal in her own right. She simply favored the sword over the bow, which was the only ready difference between them, beyond their skin tone of course. The long, equally worn traveling cloak, the boots, leather armor, and a similar ease of near silent movement said that she knew her way around a forest as easily as her brother likely knew his way around a city if Giselle was any judge. While Giselle's almond eyes were on the twins, Neria's blue orbs had since fallen on the pair of gnomes that followed after the two half elves.

One wore what could only be described as, at least in her mind, garishly bright purple vestments trimmed in gold and black thread. While his boots were just as well worn as the rest of his companions', the little bard, for only a bard would look half as handsome and well traveled in her experience, the rest of him was all but immaculate, despite the fact most of his friends looked like they had just come out of a sewer, covered in grime and dirt and blood if she were to make an educated guess, most of it not their own.

Dark haired like the twins in front of him, the little bardic gnome took one look at her and Giselle and offered them a cheeky grin that had the wood elven cleric smiling wryly in response. She knew what was coming long before the gnome ever opened his mouth, and he didn't disappoint. "My my, what visions of beauty stand towering before me."

"Now's not the time you little shit." The rogue grumbled even as he took a moment to glance in their direction on his way by, and stopped for a second when Neria flashed him a winning smile.

Blinking and shaking his head, the rogue pressed on without a backwards glance, but his sister shot the cleric a quick smirk over her shoulder. "I don't think I've seen my brother do that before, unless Gilmore was in the room. Congratulations darling."

"Not helping sister." The rogue grumbled without breaking his determined stride.

"Don't take offense, he's always got a stick up his bum. Where I on the other hand am far more charming." It was only when his fellow, and far more heavily armored counterpart, chuckled at his no doubt well known antics among the group, that the bard stopped short and blushed, his cheeks turning almost as bright as his vestments. "O-of course, I only have eyes for you sweet Pike."

Pike, a heavy metal mace resting within easy reach on her right hip, smiled endearingly at the gnomish man at her side, her long, wavy platinum blonde hair falling over her armored shoulders, and patted the bard on the back as she said, "It's okay Scanlan, but we do have a bit of business to attend to."

"Oy! When do I get to kill somethin?! It's been thirty minutes since I murdered someone, and I'm worried I'm losin' my edge ..." Both elves looked up, and up, when a gray skinned, heavily muscled, tattooed goliath walked into the hallway. Having seen giants and their lesser cousins before, neither elf were that alarmed by his presence, only that he seemed to be willingly following the others of his group. What was surprising though, was the fact it wasn't often that a giant of any kind followed elves, humans, and what looked like a lizard or dragon like humanoid, who stood beside another well dressed human on his right.

"It's okay Grog, we'll find you a nice cow to slaughter after we're done here." If the staff the red scaled dragonoid didn't give away his chosen profession, the sorcerer, arcane marked robes the spectacled dragon creature wore made it all too easy to see where his power lay as the goliath grinned down at the sorcerer in approval. When the red scaled dragon turned to them though, he gave a slightly surprised huff and let his eyes sweep over the pair before smiling at the two, revealing more than a handful of sharp little teeth in his otherwise friendly, scaly face. "Ah, greetings. I am Tiberius Stormwind, and I hail fr-"

"No one cares Tibby! Now get up here! You're holding up the works!" The rogue shouted over his shoulder.

"No need to be so rude Vax, oh hello." The man by Tiberius said and adjusted the spectacles that had started to ride down the bridge of his nose before nodding his head of gray hair at the two elven women. "Please allow me to apologize on behalf of Scanlan for whatever disgraceful comments he has no doubt already made towards you." Out of the group, this fellow with a pair of strange, at least to them, metallic tubes, one far larger and longer than the other, seemed the most aristocratic of the bunch with his blue overcoat with gold buttons, a white undershirt, dark black leather pants, a pair of mostly clean black boots, and an air of nobility, true nobility and bearing, the kind that made one that would go out of his way to help those worse off than him, was thick about his person.

"Hey! I was a complete gentleman I'll have you know! This time at least." Scanlan protested as he turned on his heel to argue with his well dressed, and far better mannered, human counterpart.

"There's a first time for everything I suppose." The well spoken man offered with a doubtful grin. "It's a pleasure to meet you, please allow me to introduce myself-" He never got the chance to finish because the aforementioned Grog chose that moment to none too gently shove the gentleman to the side.

With a 'oomph' and a glare at the goliath's back, which Grog ignored completely, the giant barbarian wasted little time in berating the man on his way to the throne room. "Ah for fucks sake Percy, we don't have all day here! ... Or do we? I'm not very good at readin' those sun dially things."

Just when the two elves thought they had seen everything, the goliath paused mid stride and blushed when he saw Pike had put a comforting hand on one ridiculously oversized arm, at least when compared to her tiny gnome hand. "It's alright Grog, you're good at a lot of other things, big guy."

"Like whoring and drinking ale!" Scanlan offered with a cheerful laugh.

"Oh for the love of... am I the only one here capable of having a mature conversation?" Percy grouched this time as he gave the gnome a dark, scathing glare that had him looking past the spectacles on his face.

"Yes." The rest of his unique companions readily replied.

"I know the feeling." Giselle replied, and smirked when Neria gave her a dirty look for the remark before her mock frown disappeared as she nodded and shrugged in agreement.

"Glad I'm not the on-hello." A rather pretty elven woman stammered out as she locked eyes with the pair leaning against the side of the hall as the rest of her group pushed onward. "Um….that _is_ a Drow right?" The druid, half elven like the ranger and rogue ahead of them, blinked large, brown eyes as she flicked her gaze over the dark elven ranger.

"Yes….why do you ask?" Percy asked, obviously not getting the reason why the druid was giving her dark skinned counterpart such a strange look.

Giselle waved him off before he could stumble about further. "Long story short, our two peoples don't get along." She stated simply, only giving the human enough information to put the pieces together.

" _Oh_...gotcha." Percy said as he caught onto what had his companion so uneasy.

"That's putting it mildly. But you're….up here on the surface….on purpose….so you can't be so bad, right?" The druid replied, two parts awkward shyness and one part shame at having jumped to the exact same assumption that the dark elf was evil and to be feared as so many had done already.

Neria was quick to step in her friend's defense the moment the druid had shut her mouth. The hard, almost unforgiving glare she gave the woman said more than her words did alone. "No, she is not, I can promise you."

"Too bad, I hear Drow are demons in the bedchamb- OW!" He yelped and jumped, clutching at his right foot as he did and hopped about in place.

"Scanlan?" The half elven ranger asked sweetly, having turned around and stomped, hard, on the bard's foot while he'd been distracted before roughly tugging at one of his ears. "Be a good little bastard won't you?" At that moment, the ranger's animal companion growled and grunted right behind the bard as she viciously tugged on his ear for good measure. "And shut it, before I have Trinket sit on you. Alright?" The sweet tone she adopted at the end of her threat was somehow more menacing than the cold, furious note her voice had held at the start of it.

Either way, it got her point across pretty thoroughly as Scanlan swallowed the rather large nervous lump in his little throat. "Yes ma'am." He replied, his voice rising several octaves before he let out a relieved breath in a great 'whoosh' when the ranger let go of his ear.

"Good. Now come along, we're keeping Sovereign Uriel waiting." With that, the group of assorted adventurers that ranged across the spectrum of professions and races, left Giselle and Neria in the hall to stare after their departing forms.

"What an intriguing bunch those people are." Neria stated, her blue eyes wide in awe and admiration, as well as more than a little good cheer at their endearing antics.

"If you say so." Giselle muttered, already shoving the incredibly odd group to the back of her mind. While they seemed like a nice enough group overall, save for the druid who had been quick to correct herself once called out on her reaction, there had been something off about two of them that hadn't sat well with the Drow ranger. Her almond eyes kept falling on two of the strange individuals, mainly the well dressed human, and the giant goliath near the back of the group. It was then that she felt an all too familiar presence, something she'd dealt with for as long as she could remember, call out in the dark recesses of her very being.

_Follow them….._

Gritting her teeth at the foul, yet equally alluring, overpowering presence in the darkest reaches of her soul, Giselle, with a reserve of willpower and stubbornness that would have put her dwarven friends back home to shame, shoved the impulse away with a powerful mental shove. The voice fell silent, as did its almost overpowering command, and she was able to breathe a little easier once she had buried the impulse once more.

Not quite fast enough though, as Giselle opened her eyes and saw Neria giving her a slightly concerned look when she met her companion's gaze. "Strange... I'd swear you almost look pale. Well, slightly more grim at least. Unless-"

"Let's….just get out of here Neria." Giselle interrupted her before she could ask what was really on her mind. Only a very small group of people knew the truth of the matter, and such talk was not meant for unfamiliar ears. Taking her hint, the wood elf cleric silently, solemnly nodded and put a hand on Giselle's shoulder, a gesture that she accepted gratefully. "I'm alright, I promise." The Drow ranger reassured her, but Giselle could see the concern didn't leave her long time friend's eyes.

"If….it is _that_ problem raising its head again, you know I can't let you endure it alone for long." Neria whispered quietly, knowing from long experience that Giselle wouldn't agree to having her….problem, handled in public, no matter how bad it got. The fact that it had raised its head at all suggested there was something wrong with one or more of the group that had passed them by. Something almost as dark and corrupted as the….thing Giselle had trapped inside her, if not darker in some way that scared the good natured cleric to her core to even consider.

"I know….but not here." Giselle replied softly, having come to a similar conclusion as her gaze kept falling on Grog and Percy before she was forcefully pulled away by her rightfully worried friend.

"Right, let's find a cozy little inn for the night. I won't even complain if you trap the windows and door like last time." The jest, even if that had been exactly what Giselle had done during one such stay at a less than reputable inn a few towns back, was well received by Giselle as she snorted and shot her friend a grateful smirk as they left the palace's throne room at a brisk if still dignified pace. The tension that had started to filter into the Drow's face melted away almost as quickly as they put distance between themselves and the group that had entered the throne room, and it wasn't long before they were laughing freely once more as they made their way into Emon's busy streets.

The rest of their morning went on without a hitch, which somehow only managed to make Giselle all the more apprehensive. They found a relatively clean and well respected inn for the evening and spent the rest of the morning and some of the afternoon going about the city, having a decent meal at an open air restaurant in the Cloudtop District before they moved on. Deciding to take some time to stock up on supplies, they found their way to a rather colorful, arcane looking shop of some sort around midday, named Gilmore's Glorious Goods. Having since left the Cloudtop District, mostly because the few shops in the upper class section of Emon they'd found after their meal were far too expensive and just downright snobby for her tastes, Giselle chose to lead the way down to the Abedar District, before her almond eyes fell on the shop that was almost as ostentatious as the man himself, as they found out the moment they entered the establishment.

The first thing they noticed was that Gilmore's shop was bigger on the inside than it was on the outside, which only confirmed their assumptions that they had entered some kind of arcane oriented place of business. The smell of incense was thick in the air, and it didn't take much to see there was a number of everburning candles nestled in sconces scattered about the main floor, filling the air with scented smoke that was almost sickeningly overpowering. There were no doors on the first floor, instead each passageway was divided by curtains of colorful beads. Towards the back of the shop there rested a large wooden counter behind which a couple of attendants patiently waited. While the far left wall seemed to be dominated by items of a herbalist nature. A wide set of stairs led up to an unseen second story, cleverly hidden from outside view, which only further proved the simple fact that the single story building, at least when viewed from the outside, was much bigger than appearances suggested.

"Welcome, my fine elven ladies, to my humble little establishment!" Giselle found herself fighting the urge to step back from the exceedingly boisterous man as he leaned closer. "My you have good taste, I dare say I've seen less than a dozen paired scimitars of such fine quality."

Giselle shrugged and crossed her arms, a small little smirk tugging at her lips. "Thanks, they might be old, but they're still two of my most treasured possessions."

"I can tell, but they still emanate quite a bit of old magic, or I'm not the proprietor of this little slice of paradise." Gilmore said and put a hand on his hip while the other rested casually on the counter at his side. "So, what can I do for you this fine afternoon?"

No sooner had the words left the man's mouth, did they hear a number of feet heading to the door. Giselle started to speak again, only to hear an annoyingly familiar gnome bard behind her. "It must be fate! How many times does this happen? I swear we were just coming here to shop from our favorite friend here in Emon, and here you are!" Giselle groaned while Neria beamed as both turned and saw Scanlan at the head of his group of companions as they piled into Gilmore's shop. "Now what are the chances of that?"

Giselle only sighed and shook her head at the boisterous bard's overabundance of cheer. "Not nearly bad enough."

 _ **End Notes:**_ _Well that happened lol. You can blame Archer83 for this one, but it was truly good, working with him again after so long of not talking to him. I and Nomad-117 missed him a great deal, far more than either of us could ever hope to express honestly. So when he came to us after his several months of absence with something we all shared a passion for to some degree or another, we jumped on the chance to work with him like we used to, as you can imagine._

_At any rate, we sincerely hope you've enjoyed our combined efforts in this, and the inclusion of a couple of our own additions to the story as they find themselves entangled in the wild and whacky adventures that is Vox Machina's bread and butter. Take care folks, and hope to hear from you all again. See ya!_


	2. Episode 1.2:  The Die is Cast

**Authors’ Notes:** _ And here we are again, starting up right where our first part ended.  We hope that we’re able to entertain and delight the lot of you as we did before, it will have made our efforts worthwhile. _

**Episode 1.2:  The Die is Cast**

While Giselle glared down at the gnome bard as he gestured towards his companions emphatically, Neria had to bite her tongue at the slightly offended look he threw at her longtime companion.  “Oh come now, we're not that bad once you get to know us... more intimately.”

And in typical Giselle fashion, she was completely unaffected by his attempt to charm her.  If anything, the glare she was directing at Scanlan only deepened as she let her hands fall on the scimitars on her slender hips.  “Your friends don't bother me, despite the fact they somehow tolerate your existence.  Now leave us be, or I'll carve you a  _ bloody  _ smile.”

“You wound me, dark enchantress.”  The bard replied and clutched at his chest, acting the part of mortally wounded party even though she hadn’t touched a hair on his head, yet.

Neria found herself leaning towards the other, profusely blushing, blonde haired gnome while Giselle continued to glare darkly at the bard.  “Was your odd friend dropped on his head as a child, or is he truly this idiotically brave?”

“I would dare to guess a bit of both.”  Pike whispered back in reply, enraptured by the sight of these two contrasting people trying to win over, or stare to death, the other.

Before a ‘winner’ could be had, Vax chose that moment to butt in by slapping a hand down on Scanlan’s shoulder.  “Alright then, enough of this shit.  Apologise to the lady so we can get my obnoxious sister's shopping over with.  No offense Gilmore.”  He was quick to say, to which the aforementioned proprietor waved off Vax’s apology.

“None taken my good sir.  So, now that that’s out of the way, what can I do for you fine folks today?  And why do most of you like you haven’t slept for a week?”  It was a good question, now that Giselle bothered to look past the annoying bard, and Neria’s attention was similarly diverted to the group at large.  The majority of them did indeed look like they had seen better days, beyond the muck, grime, and the gods knew what else covering their persons.  Even the cheerful bard, who was the cleanest of the bunch, looked ready to drop if so much as a stiff breeze blew through the shop.

“We’ve had a  _ very  _ long week.  We nearly died, multiple times.”  Keyleth, the two elves remembered, said as she clung to her intricately carved, vine covered staff, as if it were the only thing keeping her upright.

“Ah, one of those weeks eh?”  Gilmore stated, understanding dawning on his face almost immediately.  “Reminds me of this time I met these two halfing brothers... but that's a tale for another time.  How may I assist you?”

“Oh we’ll wait darling, we need a moment to sort out ourselves and get our shopping list sorted anyway.  Go, help those two, they were here first anyway.”  Vex waved dismissively towards Neria and Giselle, the latter of which raised an eyebrow in slight surprise but said nothing to the ranger.

“We thank you kindly.”  Neria said for the both of them.

It was all the same to Gilmore, since business was business at the end of the day, so he shrugged and nodded to himself.  “Very well.”

Before Neria could begin to ask for anything, did someone decide it was the perfect time to make his presence known once more, despite the less than subtle hostility he’d been shown thus far.  Gisele could barely contain her anger as the annoying little ass known as Scanlan shoved his way past them.  “Excuse me, age before beauty and all that.  Gilmore, I believe we should get first dibs on the quality goods, what with all that free publicly we throw your way.” 

“Um excuse me?  Fuckstick?   _ We  _ were here first.  I don’t care if you polish the shelves with your ass.”  Giselle retorted sharply as she once more glared down at the smug bard that barely came up to her waist.

Proving his love for quick retorts and snappy one liners, Scanlan bowed and swept an invisible hat across his chest in a grand, theatrical bow before he said, “Why thank you, I’m quite happy you noticed my ass.”

“Grog?”  Vax let out a heavy sigh, and pointed to the arrogant gnome.  “Would you kindly take Scanlan outside for a moment?  Preferably before Gilmore’s floors are stained with blood.”

“Uh...alright.  Come on Scanlan.”  Grog wasted no time in picking the bard gnome up by the back of his shirt without any effort on his part at all, but given the goliath’s sheer size alone, let alone the strength to match, picking up the small humanoid was like watching a bear drag its cub about by the scruff of its neck.

While the goliath carried the bard away, Scanlan waved his little arms and legs dramatically about, all the while beseeching his cleric counterpart to save him.  “Pike!  Save me my love!”

“Sorry Scanlan.”  Pike muttered, even as Giselle and Neria saw her lips twitching in an effort not to laugh at the admittedly hilarious scene playing out before her.  “He’s so….tall.”  Only after Scanlan and Grog were gone, did Pike giggle into an armored gauntlet in an effort to muffle the sound.

“I'm going to look over whatever tomes or scrolls I can find.  You two don't need any of those right?”  The red haired elf druid asked even as she started talking shop with the herbalist.  The most striking aspect about the elven woman at first glance was the crown of antlers resting atop the pale druid’s long fiery shock of auburn hair.  While her green and brown accented attire showed her love of earth tones, her deep blue eyes held a weariness that was at odds with her gentle, almost naive, nature. Ironic, since with her staff held by her side, she looked every inch a druidic.

“We’re good.”  Neria reassured her before bowing gratefully to the group in handling their erstwhile friend.  “I do apologize for any trouble we’ve caused you.”

“Oh you needn’t do that, every now and again we remind Scanlan he needs to behave himself.”  Percy was quick to reassure the wood elf cleric, and gently patted her on the arm.  “It was overdue if you ask me.”

Neria’s flick of her blue eyes towards her, oftentimes extremely, over protective companion was sufficient to encourage Giselle to reshealth her partially drawn scimitar with a soft clack of metal.  The subtle gesture, while missed by a few of the group, didn’t go unnoticed by the twins, or Percy more due to his proximity than anything else, and he took a hesitant step back from Neria.  The cleric sighed and gave Giselle a dirty look, which had the Drow holding her hands up in a placating gesture before the wood elf turned back to Percy, an apologetic gleam in her blue eyes.  “Again I apologize, she means well, and there are few people I’d rather walk besides, but she can be a bit….overzealous at times.”

“And you’re not paranoid enough at times.”  Giselle was quick to shoot back.  “Not to mention far too trusting of strange people.”  Despite her harsh sounding words though, the Drow’s hard visage softened now that the annoying bard was no longer antagonizing her at every turn.  “At least you lot seem alright for the most part, but we’ve had our share of trouble in the past from people that were grateful for our help at the time before they decided to try and stab us in the back later.  So you can forgive my caution I’m sure.”

“Oh we get it darling, trust us.  We made the mistake of trusting a mind flayer not so long ago.  Silly of us, I know, but I suppose you had to be there.”  Vex shrugged, sounding utterly nonchalant about the fact they had made an alliance with a mind flayer of all things.

“That might be so, but I’d have simply stabbed the mind flayer and been done with it.  I know better than most what they are, and friends of any but their own race, they are not.  Any alliances made with them are temporary, if you can ever say your interests are ever aligned in the first place.”  Those that knew even an inkling about the Underdark, where strange beings, like the mind flayers, or illthids, Drow, and more made their homes, knew better than to trust anything in the dark, lightless depths of the earth.  Drow knew that truth better than most, and while Giselle hadn’t been raised in the Underdark, she still knew her fair share about the place, where her kin still lived in abundance, forever trapped in their dark, vicious ways.

Having held his tongue save to have Grog carry Scanlan out, Vax chose that moment to break his silence even as he picked up a potion bottle, containing a thick, red viscous fluid that any adventurer worth their salt knew on sight.  “Our goals were similar enough at the time, but you’re right in what you say.”

“That damnable Klorota, and here I thought we were becoming friends.  Oh, I see the new copies of Arcane Spells for Dummies Vol5 have arrived.”  Just as Tiberius had started to fume at the betrayal that, to Giselle’s mind, should have been obvious from the start, he changed his tune when his gaze fell on the books in question.  He gave an amused harrumph in the back of his throat before moving on.  “Never needed the books myself, I’ve always been good at mastering the arcane.”  He muttered under his breath, having taken to talking to himself, lost to his own thoughts as he was.

“Yes, we know, we know.”  Vex grumbled before shaking her head with a roll of her eyes as she headed up the stairs to the second floor.  “The dragonborn likes to hear himself talk.”

“I never noticed.”  Neria giggled as she followed after the ranger, having since let her eyes fall on a display case full of rings, amulets, and even a belt that she knew would fit Grog quite well.  While it wasn’t required, and the gift would be turned down if she brought it up, Neria had gotten it into her head that she needed to make a peace offering of sorts even if Scanlan’s behavior and the subsequent need to be shown the door had been his own fault.  It was just how she was, she hated causing trouble, even if it hadn’t been her doing.  She simply held herself to a higher standard, in some ways far too high if one were to ask Giselle’s opinion on the topic.

“Your shadow seems to think I didn't notice her skulking up behind us.  Rather possessive isn't she?  I hope she makes up for it in bed.”  Vex mused, sidling up next to the cleric, who blushed but smiled at the comment.

“It has not been without effort on my part, to make the occasional offer, but alas, Giselle has remained the perfect friend in that regard.”  Neria replied as she waved over one of the few assistants in the shop before pointing to the belt on display.

Even as she negotiated a price, Vex continued her conversation with her far prettier, fully elven counterpart.  A thoughtful look locked on her face, the ranger nodded and said, “Ah...  but you wish otherwise.  Just like my brother... wait forget I said that, would you?”  She quickly said, to which Neria smiled a little wider and nodded.  “Oh good, but my point stands.”

Neria sighed heavily at that, but before she could say anything further, the wood elf held up an armored hand to stop Vex in her tracks.  “Just because I wish it were different, does not mean I do not understand her reasoning for not taking me up on the offer.  We’ve been friends for so long, she likely sees me as a sister that she never had rather than someone she could ever comfortably share a bed with beyond the need for warmth.  And we’ve had to do just that a couple times, but that’s a tale for another day.”

“But I'd bet you enjoyed it none the less.”  Neria didn’t respond aloud, but the blush and the gleam in her blue eyes told Vex enough.  She chuckled warmly and nudged the woman in the side.  “I thought so, darling.  But I’ll let the matter drop.  Besides, I’m surprised she hasn’t said anything about our little conversation by now.”

Neria looked up then, and was a little surprised herself when she saw that Giselle was nowhere in sight.  “That’s….unusual.  She rarely leaves my side for any reason when we’re in a city like this.”

“I think I saw her and Vax, along with Percy, head upstairs with Gilmore.”  Keyleth said, having finished with the herbalist about that time, and had since moved to another section of the shop with Tiberius in hot pursuit.  The dragonborn had a heavy looking bundle of books in his arms, and looked about ready to lose the lot all over the storeroom floor as he scanned the pages of the book on the top of the stack.

“Thank you, perhaps I should check on her before the inevitable ensues.” Neria replied with a chuckle, not about to tell them how strange it felt not to have Giselle by her side.

Before she got two feet though, having decided not to buy the belt after all, Keyleth gently intercepted her, a question on her lips that Neria had a feeling she knew before she got it out into the room.  “Um...I do not mean to pry-”

“Yes you do.”  Vex corrected her.

Keyleth went on as if she hadn’t heard the interruption.  “-but how did you two meet, anyway?  I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Drow traveling on the surface before, let alone heard one being friends with….well, one of us.”

Neria sighed, having answered this question many times before by those much like Keyleth.  “It’s a very long, and somewhat tragic tale, but the short of it is that her family has lived on the surface for a very long time, so her ties to the Underdark, those that bear the dark skin and darker hearts of their kin, are only that, skin deep.  She is as much wood elven as I am.  But as for how we met personally, I saved her life after a dragon hunt went awry.”

“She hunted a dragon?  By herself?”  Keyleth asked in utter disbelief.

“No, nothing like that.”  Neria replied and shook her head, a smile tugging at her lips despite the sad turn that her tale would take before the end.  “She was part of a group, and while they were successful, it wasn’t without cost.  She was severely injured, and the cleric they had in the group was killed, so the best they could do was patch her up and get her down to the nearest temple.  The temple I happened to be a part of.”

“Really?  It sounds like you were fated to meet.”  Pike stated, more than a little admiration audible in her voice, let alone visible on her pretty face as she looked up towards Neria.  A soft, golden glow seemed to radiate from the stout gnome cleric that had little to do with her perpetually happy nature or her shining blue and silver armor.  Her flowing blonde hair, wrangled in by a practical ponytail, only added to the effect. While her rosy hued cheeks spoke to her cheerful, yet humble, attitude. But most noticeable of all were her pale blue eyes, which refused to see the world around her in anything less than a hopeful light.

“You know, we killed a white dragon once.  Sorry, shutting up now.”  Vex quickly said when Pike, Neria, and Keyleth gave her a collection of looks that ranged between slightly annoyed, to puzzled, to exasperated, in that order.

Turning to Pike, Neria shrugged but smiled at the thought that had crossed her mind more than once.  “I have often wondered the same thing myself.  The gods do work in mysterious ways, as you no doubt know well, Pike.”

“Indeed I do.”  As the words left her mouth, the gnome’s right hand gently wrapped around a pendant she wore around her neck.  A pendant that, in the shape of a pair of gold, angelic like wings, Neria could have sworn had a crack in it, but she didn’t get a good enough look at it to be certain.

“It truly is an honor to meet a devotee of Sarenrae.  Her followers seem to be few in number these days, but not in quality of character.”  it was then that Neria gently clasped her fingers around her own holy symbol, and closed her blue eyes as a whisper left her lips.  “At least you are not alone however....”

“What do you mean, darling?”  Neria gave a little yelp, having forgotten that Vex had been standing at her side.  When she saw Pike and Keyleth giving her similarly curious and concerned, expectant, looks, the wood elf knew she couldn’t so easily get out of this conversation without being rude.

**Meanwhile…** ..

Giselle, against her better judgment, had decided to trust those on the first floor as she followed Percy, Gilmore, and Vax upstairs to the second floor, where a number of arms and armor were on display.  While she wasn’t looking for herself, it was still nice to browse, and besides, it gave her an excuse to learn more about the people that her….darker nature had found unhealthily fascinating.  That and as loathe as she was to admit it, she found the gray haired human at her side strangely fascinating for some reason, beyond whatever it was that had drawn her eye initially.  It was almost as if she could sense a familiar darkness pervading the man.  “So, what’s your story?”  She asked point blank, both in an effort to break the silence, and to stop thinking about whatever burden he was keeping to himself as she was keeping her own, earning a confused look from the self proclaimed gunslinger.

“Oh, you meant me.  Uh, what did you want to know?”  Percy asked, now that she had gotten his attention and had had a moment to return to the present himself, having gotten lost in his own thoughts.

“Whatever you’re willing to share.  I know better than most secrets are kept for a reason.”  Giselle said as she shrugged her shoulders.  Rangers had their own level of secrecy just by their very natures of being generally isolationist if they chose to keep to the wild places of the world.  She was no different in that sense, but when it became necessary to head to a city or a town for one reason or another, she kept her stay short and to the point as much as possible.  Still, that didn’t mean she wasn’t friendly, she just didn’t go out of her way to make friends beyond the few she had.  But, in this case, she was willing to make an exception.

“That is very wise of you.”  Percy offered noncommittally, before attempting to change the subject by letting his eyes fall on a nearby display case.  “Ah, what beautiful workmanship, Gilmore what does this ring do?”

“As you can clearly see on the label, it allows the wearer to detect falsehoods and other treachery.”  Giselle had to stifle a chuckle with a cough when she saw Percy blush at having missed the sign just beneath the ring in question.  Gilmore gave the man an amused smirk before turning his gaze to her.  “Perhaps the lady would like to examine it?”

“I think I’ll manage without it Gilmore.”  Giselle replied with an amused shake of her head before nudging Percy in the side none too gently with her bony elbow.  “Come on, you’re stalling.  Talk or I walk.”

“Are you always this persuasive?”  Vax asked, his attention having fallen on a rather keen looking dagger.  While he didn’t look over his shoulder, the soft little grin in his voice was still audible to her sharp, elven hearing.

“I could be rougher, but I’m trying to restrain the impulse.  I won’t even bother trying to get you to talk though, rogue.”  Vax did look over his shoulder then, and casually flicked his wrist.  When he did, one of the daggers on his belt seemed to jump to his hand, or it had always been there, even she wasn’t sure, but he tucked it back into his belt with another casual flick of his wrist.

“And don’t you forget it, ranger.”  He shot back, his little grin having taken over his whole face at that point.  Turning to Percy, the rogue met the gunslinger’s gaze and flicked his eyes over to the Drow, silently telling him to start talking.  “Come on, she asked you a question Percy.  Best not to keep a lady waiting.”

“Right, because you have such a  _ stellar  _ track record yourself.”  Percy deadpanned, muttering under his breath, just quiet enough that Vax didn’t hear him, but the Drow at his side did.  Giselle did her best not to laugh aloud, and instead bit her tongue at the banter between the obviously old friends.  Noticing her valiant effort not to laugh, Percy smiled and felt his cheeks redden.  “Yes, we’re always like this.  This is actually pretty mild.  Just...take my word for it.”

Giselle, having finally gotten the impulse to burst into fits of laughter under control, chuckled instead and nodded before crossing her arms over her lightly armored chest.  Leaning against the display case she had been looking over, the Drow’s almond eyes turned wistful as her mind went back to the days she had had a group of close companions much like the ones around her now, before they had taken a job involving a red dragon that hadn’t ended well for any of them.  Shaking off the memories, both painful and pleasant alike, the ranger sighed and patted the gunslinger on the shoulder.  “Friends like yours are rare indeed, even if they might drive you insane at times with their assorted eccentricities.  My advice?  Hold onto them, for you never know what tomorrow might bring.”

From the looks she got from Percy and Vax, the Drow got the distinct impression that they already knew that from hard learned experience during their travels.  Still, the knowing gleam in the spectacled human’s gaze made her feel both relief and a bit of sorrow that he understood exactly what she was telling him.  “Well, considering we actually lost Pike some time ago, before we managed to revive her with some divine intervention on our side, let alone our latest near brush with death fighting a beholder, you aren’t telling me anything I don’t already know.  Still, your advice is welcome.”

It was then, unbeknownst to Giselle, that the gunslinger’s earing filled with Vex’s voice.  She did frown a little in curiosity when the man at her side looked away and tapped at the earring she could see just visible beneath his gray locks.  “Percy, listen carefully darling, tell her her skin glisens like a starry night sky, that her hair is the color of celestial moonlight.”

“Your advice I can do without.”  Percy tersely whispered, subtly cupping a hand over his right ear.

While she found it strange he was cupping his ear, what he said had Giselle pushing away from the display case with an angry huff.  “Fine then human, I won't waste anymore of my time giving you any.”

Her temper cooled somewhat when Percy jerked upright and blushed furiously in confusion before recognition dawned in his eyes.  “Wait, what?  Oh that, that wasn't meant towards-”  He didn’t get to finish before Scanlan, having heard the entire conversation, decided to chime in through his own earring.

“Grog put me down!  This is an emergency, I'm helping Vex get Percy laid. Thank you.  Now then, Percival, say this, I beg your forgiveness for my foolishness, for I am stunned by the mere presence of such a radiant beauty before me.”

Percy couldn't help flinching slightly at the disgusted gagging noise Vex was currently making in his ear.  To make matters worse, Giselle was now glaring at him suspiciously as he instinctively took a step back.  “I don’t think I want to be saying that, you can’t see the look she’s giving me right now.”

Raising a silver eyebrow, she took a sharp breath inward when she finally caught onto what was going on.  When she did, Giselle none too gently grabbed Percy’s ear, before she tapped at the man’s earring despite his muttered complaints about her rough handedness, saying, “Stay out of our conversation.”

“Percy, you lucky bastard, sounds like the rumors about drow are right after all.”

“Ow, ow, ow.  You don’t have to rip my ear off.  And Scanlan, you’re not helping right now.”  Percy winced as Giselle finaly let go of his ear with an apologetic glance before her face morphed into an increasingly familiar dark glare that she directed at the stairwell leading back to the ground floor.

“Excuse me, I need to gut your friend now.”

“Please don’t, he might be an irritating little shit, but he does mean well….most of the time.”  Vax chimed in, having since stepped up to do his part in protecting said ‘shit’ and Percy, although the latter didn’t seem to be in any immediate danger, save for where she had grabbed at his ear.

Giselle turned and directed her narrow eyed glare on the rogue next.  “Give me one good reason.”

“How about five hundred reasons?”  Vax asked, his tone slightly more hopeful than he actually felt.

“Brother, you better not be thinking what I think you're thinking.”

“Only 500 Vax?!  I Feel so cheated.”

“Are you seriously trying to bribe her?”  Percy asked, aghast at the very idea that they were bartering for their friend’s life.

“That’s a good question,  _ are  _ you trying to bribe me?”  Giselle asked, her tone having dropped to a cold, menacing whisper as her brown eyes lit up ominously about the same time.

Vax wasn’t intimidated easily though, and crossed his arms over his chest as he took a step forward for good measure.  “Granted, Scanlan could use with being humbled by someone like you, but he is still my friend.  As such, if you wish to do him harm, you’re going to have to go through me first, and I doubt Grog will stand idle either.  In fact, I’m pretty sure most of our group will happily step in if the need arises.  Now I don’t know what you’re capable of, but you seem smarter than the average moron we run into.”  He was about to say more, but was cut off quite effectively when a scimitar blade stopped just short of his neck in the next moment.

Giselle had to blink and cock her head a little to the side, surprised by how unmoving the rogue was proving to be.  She only glanced over her shoulder when Percy drew out one of the strange weapons on his person with nearly as much speed as her sword had flashed from its scimitar, and pointed it at the back of her head.  Unintimidated by the show of force, she chose instead to look directly at Vax.  “I'm shocked you lived past puberty.”

“Mostly my charming good looks, but it helps to have a sister with a pet bear.”

“Your loyalty is impressive, I will give you that.”  With a casual flick of her wrist, the blade she had drawn was back in its sheath and away from Vax’s throat.  With a small nod from the rogue, Percy also raised his metallic weapon’s open end to the ceiling before tucking it back into its holster on his hip.  “It’s good to know your trust in each other extends so far.”

“Well that got out of hand quickly, I used to be able to truthfully say I would never point a weapon at a woman.”  Percy sighed and ran his hands down his face with an exhausted groan.

“I wasn’t worried.”  Gilmore mused aloud, having remained perfectly calm during the entire exchange.  When all eyes fell on the proprietor, he shrugged and smiled knowingly at the group.  “Please, she never had any intention of harming a hair on your head.  I doubt we’d be talking if she had had a mind to give you a close shave.”

“He’s got a point,” Giselle agreed as her hard glare softened and she was able to smirk at the two of them, “although I don’t think I’ve seen anyone quick draw like that before.  Just what are those weapons of yours Percy?”  She asked, having since turned to face the man as her eyes fell on the smaller of the two metallic, long tubed weapons with their strange, unusual design that made little sense or reason to her.  If she’d have made a guess though, she’d have said they were some kind of crossbow, but even that was a bit of a stretch.

“Here we go.”  Vax muttered sarcastically and rolled his eyes as he started away to anothe rpart of the second floor.

“Kindly stuff it Vax.  Oh these marvelous little devices?”  Percy said with glee as he pulled out his Pepper Box, the smaller of the two, and Bad News, which he placed on the display case they’d been standing beside, always ready to show off the fruits of his rather explosive genius.  “I tinker, invent things, and these have served me quite well.”

Giselle’s eyes lit up as she put the pieces together, and her smile widened a little as understanding came to her.  Gingerly taking Pepper Box from Percy’s hand when he held it out to her, she raised an eyebrow when she saw a number of names carved into the barrel of the gun.  She didn’t ask about them, but she got the impression they were important for some reason as she turned the rather intricately, and beautifully crafted, weapon between her dexterous fingers.  “Ah, I see, so you’re an engineer of sorts.  I guess the gnomes I’ve ran into back home aren’t the only ones into the mechanical sciences.”

“Oh trust me, they have nothing on me.”

She chuckled at that as she flicked the gun about so that the handle was pointed towards Percy once more, although it would have been a simple matter to shoot him with his own weapon if she had had a mind.  Still, that didn’t stop her from pointing out the obvious flaw in his handing over his preferred weapon to her, a near complete stranger.  “I see, and are you always in such a rush to stroke your ego that you leave yourself defenseless to impress someone?”

“Not always, I also have this.” Percy casually put an old, worn short sword on the display case as well.  “I know how to use a blade well enough on the off chance the worst happens, and I find myself without my guns.”

“Clever man.  Having a reliable backup shows you’ve had that happen before.”

“Gods, more than I’d care to admit.”  Percy groaned, and Giselle got the impression that he was indeed speaking from experience in this regard.  Experiences that had likely left a bad taste in his mouth, or had put his team in mortal danger because of his questionally reliable weaponry.

Giselle nose wrinkled in disgust when she noticed the rust on the blade however.  “You might have favor your guns, but the least you could do is take care of your sword.  Rust?  There’s no excuse for that, not if you’re as clever as you claim yourself to be.”

Vax chuckled into a leather gloved hand at that.  “She’s got your number Percy.”

The gunslinger wasn’t so amused, keeping his  gaze on Giselle while he addressed the rogue.  “Shut up Vax. Go do roguish things that don't involve interrupting us.”

“Alright, but hurry up, we’re leaving soon as we get our shit together.  I don’t know about you, but I need a bath and a hot meal.  I don’t plan to stick around, even if I have to drag Vex away by her ear.”  Wasting no time, Vax, having since spotted the items he was after behind the glass of various display cases, had Gilmore assist him in getting his few purchases squared away before heading downstairs.

Percy and Giselle meanwhile, shrugged, and watched him go before the Drow scratched the back of her neck as a sheepish grin pulled at her lips.  “Well, I guess we better hurry up ourselves then.”

“Quite right.”  Gathering up Bad News, Percy put it back into its holster on his back before gesturing to the stairs.  “After you.”

“And they say chivalry’s dead.  At least with you I don’t have to worry about you leering at my ass.”  She stated as she started for the stairwell heading back down to the main floor.

“If it’s any consolation, it is a rather attractive sight.”  The light peal of laughter Percy’s comment got out of the ranger had the gunslinger smiling at her back, and briskly followed in her wake.

**Meanwhile....**

Pike couldn’t help but look at her elven counterpart inquisitively as Neria held up the rather….ugly belt for the sales assistant she was talking to regarding its price.  It seemed after the incident upstairs, she had decided to err on the side of caution after all, and give one of the group a peace offering for her friend’s rather sharp reaction towards Vax and Percy over Scanlan’s big mouth.  “Do you really think he'll like this, after all it's meant for a dwarf.”

“Are you kidding?  It's a big ugly belt, practically screams goliath fashion statement.”  Scanlan cheerfully stated and spread his arms for emphasis.  “Trust me, you can’t go wrong with that, especially given the number of enchantments on the thing.”

“Quite generous of you, if I may say so.  Shall I have the item wrapped?”

“No need.”  Keyleth muttered, echoing what the rest of the group was already thinking.

“He'll love it,” Pike reassured the group at large, before her beaming smiled faded almost as quickly when she laid eyes on Neria once more, “but I still say we should repay you.”

“Don't be so hasty Pike, it’s the least she can do after her friend threatened my dear brother.”  Vex retorted, her displeased tone alone making it abundantly clear she was a bit sore over having her brother almost beheaded, no matter the reason behind it.

No sooner had the words left the ranger’s mouth did Grog stomp over to the display case, having missed Neria completely, and glared darkly at where the belt had resided until a few minutes ago.  With a frustrated growl, the goliath spun on his heel, and declared to the room, “What the ell?!  Where'd that shiny belt go?  I swear I'm gonna rip out the spine of whoever stole my...” Grog somehow managed to look embarrassed despite his fearsome, towering goliath physique, when Neria held up the belt to him with a satisfied grin.  “D’awww….you didn’t.”  He gushed, and chuckled like a kid in a candy store as he took the offered item from the elf’s outstretched hands.

“I think he likes it.”  Neria giggled softly to Pike, who only grinned warmly up at the happy goliath before them as he quickly donned the magical item.

“Making peace offerings, why am I not surprised?”  Vex was the first to see the amused Drow ranger standing on the stairwell as she and Percy came down with a quietly smirking Gilmore bringing up the rear.  Ignoring the annoying bard as he gave her and Percy a pair of enthusiastic thumbs up, Giselle sighed and stopped before Vex.  “I had no intention of harming a hair on your brother’s head, just so you know.”

“Wait, who harmed Vax?  Not that he probably didn't deserve it.”  A confused Tiberius sputtered as he was distracted from his reading.

“No one, today at least.”  Scanlan informed him with a slightly disappointed shrug.  Having said that, he glanced up at the two rangers as they stared the other down, before whispering out the side of his mouth to Keyleth.  “I can’t decide if I want to put money on that fight in the making or not.”

“No one’s fighting anyone today.”  Vax deadpanned with an annoyed huff escaping him before he pushed the two women apart and turning to Vex as he did.  “You need to calm your tits, sis.  She apologized, and nothing happened anyway save for some slight measuring of metaphorical dicks.”

“Awww, not even one sexy cat fight?!  You’re totally ruining the mood Vax.”

“Shut up Scanlan.”  Vax retorted and turned to Giselle next when Vex blew out an annoyed breath and threw her hands up and walking away, Trinket hot on her heels as she left the shop altogether.  Vax shook his head before addressing the ranger that had yet to move an inch.  “She’ll get over it.”

Giselle shrugged and nodded, not about to argue about over spilled milk.  There was no point, what was done was done.  “It’s not the worst thing I’ve had to deal with.”

“It is quite refreshing to see she cares so much.”  Neria chimed in, hoping to lighten the mood, at least a little.

It worked, as was proven by Scanlan a moment later.  “So, where are you staying in our fine city, if I may ask?”

“Of course.”  Neria replied cheerfully, and was about to speak further, except she was muffled by a leather gloved hand covering her mouth the very next instant.

“You can ask.”  Giselle muttered flicking Neria a warning glare.  The wood elf sighed and visibly seemed to sag a little, which had her companion mentally groaning at the downtrodden look in her light blue eyes.  Pulling her hand away, Giselle sighed heavily since it always made her feel like an ass, making Neria upset for any reason.  “ _ Fine _ .”

She perked up almost immediately at that, and promptly let her brightening gaze fall on the group around her before saying, “It’s a rather nice little inn called-”

“Journey’s End?  Good gods that place is always robbing tourists and newcomers blind.”  Vex grumbled with a roll of her eyes, having since entered Gilmore’s shop once more now that she was no longer angry and looking to gouge out someone’s eyes from their head.

“The Cloudtop District place we found is no better than some of the rat infested places we’ve visited huh?  Good to know.”  Giselle grumbled, although how Vex knew where they were staying was a mystery to her.  Lucky guess most likely, especially since they had been allowed into the Cloudtop in the first place.  “Great, well I know where we’re not staying tonight.”

“But we paid for a room already.”  Neria pouted, more upset over the news their place of temporary residence had such a bad reputation rather than the fact they had lost money from a bad deal.

“Our loss then."  Giselle grumbled, far more annoyed that they had lost good coin.

“Let me guess, you asked around and everyone told you they had the best rates in the Cloudtop.  Sniveling little shits conned me out of fifty gold coins.”  Vex growled out, and Giselle got the distinct impression that the half elven ranger was the group’s go to person when it came to their finances.  Given her angry tirade over the loss of good coin, it was the only logical conclusion in Giselle’s mind.

“Gee, never heard that one before sis.” Vax’s comment only confirmed the Drow’s suspicions on that point.  “Well, since you’re now officially out of a place to sleep from the sounds of it, you could always come to our keep.”

“You have a keep?!  How in the gods name did you pull that off?”  Neria exclaimed, instantly drawn to the idea of visiting their keep.

Giselle however, wasn’t so easily sold, especially when she saw Scanlan’s hopeful grin on his face.  “No.”  She stated flatly.

“But Giselle-.”

“No.”

“Please?”

“No.”

“Remember that one night in Westruun when you-”  Neria once more hand a hand over her mouth, except now the dark glow to the Drow’s cheeks had more than a few curious glances being directed at the pair.

“Say another word, and they’ll never find your body.”  Despite the threat, the wood elf just smirked in triumph as Giselle pulled back, knowing she’d won this round.  With an irritated, and embarrassed growl escaping her, the ranger turned her back to her long time friend.  “Fine….fine, just know I don’t approve of this.”

“I couldn't approve more.” Scanlan retorted, with something approaching pure awe in his twinkling brown eyes.  Even when the Drow ranger glared down at him, the twinkle in his eye and the wide grin on his face didn’t falter in the slightest.

“Yep, we’re gonna regret this.”  Giselle muttered under her breath.

**Greyskull Keep**

“We might have a problem.”  Giselle whispered to Vex as they went up to the front entrance of the rather well put together, if small, castle devoted to the group they had somehow fallen in with, her brown eyes falling on one of the half orcs patrolling the walls, a heavy crossbow slung across his back.  Vex didn’t miss the way Neria’s blue eyes followed after the man, or the way they seemed….almost hollowed out, trapped in an old memory better left alone.

“Long story?”  Vex asked, before gingerly putting a hand on Neria’s shoulder.  She hardly batted an eyelash when the full blooded elf jumped and her hand immediately shot for the sword on her hip, but Vex was the quicker as she gently but firmly grasped the cleric’s hand.  “Easy darling, it’s just us.”

Blinking her eyes rapidly, confusion etched into her face, Neria slowly came back to herself and gave her head a vigorous shake before she looked down, and saw her hand going for her sword.  She immediately jerked away from Vex’s grasp, her cheeks turning beat red as she bowed her head deeply.  “I-I’m sorry.”

“What?  The hell was that about?”  Grog asked, and looked up to the wall in question before scratching his bald head in bewilderment.

“I think it’s better we don’t ask.”  Scanlan said, surprising more than a few people with his sudden burst of sympathy and concern, at least the first one that Giselle had seen from him that wasn’t laced with some kind of sexual advance or innuendo.  “Maybe it might be best if certain staff avoid our guests, let's leave it at that shall we?”

“O-kay?”  Grog said, still puzzled as to why everyone was suddenly walking on eggshells.  “I don’t get it.”

“It’s alright Grog, we’ll explain it to you later.”  Pike reassured him even as her gaze fell on Neria’s back.  If she noticed her concerned, almost penetrative look, the wood elf didn’t respond as she walked on with Giselle once more hovering over her like a protective mother hen.

“Percy, you seem to have gotten along with both of them well enough.  Why don't you show our guests to their quarters?”  Vex offered gingerly, although when Percy looked her way, he knew without having to ask that it wasn’t a suggestion.

Mentally shrugging his shoulders, Percy knew when to just go with the flow.  Besides, he’d seen how one of their guests had reacted to just a glimpse of one of their half orc friends they kept on staff.  There was a small problem though, which he tried to pass off as a simple observation on his part.  “Of course, oh I just realized we only have the one guest roo-”

“We’ll take it.”  Giselle stated with such force that Percy didn’t bother arguing the point further.

“Alright then….uh, follow me then.”  Patiently leading the pair up one of the nearby spiral stairs, Percy only stopped when they had reached the modest guest bedroom, gesturing down the hall behind them. “If you need anything, feel free to knock on my door right over there.  Our servants will also be more than happy to accommodate any need you may have.”

“I appreciate it greatly, but….some time alone would help the most.”  It was the first thing Neria had said, outside of apologizing to Vex for almost drawing her sword.  Still, the worried look he saw on Giselle’s face as she stared at the cleric’s armored back as she stood, her head bowed low, in the doorway of the guest bedroom, made him wonder just what they had gotten themselves into this time.

“Right then, well sleep tight.  I can assure you you’re perfectly safe under our roof. Good night.”

“You’ll forgive me if I ask one of the guards to stand outside all the same.”  Giselle stated, but she offered Percy a momentary, heartfelt look before gently shutting the door in his face.  The gunslinger stood in the hallway for several long seconds before he heard quiet sobbing on the other side of the wooden door.

Knowing better than to linger, he walked away as quietly as he could, and rolled his eyes when he saw Grog, Scanlan, Keyleth, and Pike peering around the edge of the wall at the end of the hall, all of their faces locked with curiosity or downright concerned for their new guests.  Under normal circumstances, Percy would have found the sight exceedingly amusing, but he wasn’t so insensitive as to approve of some of his friends’ attempt on spying on their new house guests.  As such, he let out an annoyed grunt as he crossed his arms over his chest and looked down his nose at Grog, Scanlan, and Keyleth.  Pike at least he understood why she’d be so worried she’d partake in such a dubious activity alongside the other three, so he wasn’t upset with her, but the others weren’t so fortunate in this case.  “I’m going to take a wild guess and say you heard most of that.”

“Most.”  Pike admitted with a guilty nod.

“I get it now.”  Grog quietly growled, his eyes simmering with an all too familiar rage.  While the goliath’s eyes hadn’t started to glow blood red just yet, those that knew him were certain it wouldn’t take much to send him into a full on rage as he clenched his massive hands into bloodless fists.  “The pretty one had something happen to her involving orcs didn’t she?”

Percy was taken aback by the rather astute observation from the last person he expected it from, and he wasn’t the only one as Scanlan and Keyleth looked up at the goliath in slight surprise.  “That would….be a close guess I’d imagine.”  Percy said once he had gotten over his mild surprise.  Turning to regard the door, the gunslinger all but whispered his next words.  “I hope they’ll be alright in there.  Maybe we should have let them be instead of inviting them over?”

Pike walked up then and put a hand on his arm before shaking her head.  “Don’t say that Percy, I’m sure things’ll be alright in the morning.  Besides, we could always ask if they want to go with us to Vasselheim if you’re really worried.”

“Right, and tell them what exactly as to why we’re heading across the Ozmit Ocean?  ‘Hey, want to help us seal away an evil fucking horn we picked up from a mad beholder we killed in the Underdark?’  Yeah….I don’t think that conversation will go over well.  Besides, we might have started a war between Kraghammer and whatever we left alive in the mind flayer temple.   _ I’d  _ avoid us like the plague.”

Any further discussion was halted instantly when they glanced over behind poor Percy to see Giselle giving them her best go the fuck away glower from the partially open door before quietly shutting it.  Scanlan summed up the situation nicely a moment later, when he quietly whispered, “I think that was our cue to go.”

“Gee you think?”  Percy grumbled, but looked over his shoulder towards the door one last time that night before he and the rest of his friends wandered downstairs as quietly as they could.  The only exception to this was Pike and her ever present clanking in her full plate armor, but even that was unusually quiet, for once.

Giselle for her part couldn’t help but smile despite her earlier misgivings about being in this strange place, surrounded by stranger people.  Well, stranger than most they had come across, but in their case, it was an endearing trait, something she could get used to, provided they stuck around long enough to get to know them.  Once she was sure they were gone, she turned to see Neria wiping at her red and puffy eyes with her slender, sun kissed skinned hands, having already gotten the worst of her near breakdown from earlier taken care of behind closed doors.

Sitting next to her wood elf companion on the single bed that was just big enough for them both, Neria smiled tiredly as she leaned into her side as Giselle wrapped an arm around her waist, allowing her to lean against her more comfortably.  “They only meant well, no need to intimidate them.  I have a good feeling about them.  And before you say how often my instincts get us in trouble-”

“Good feeling or not, they should learn to respect our privacy.  I don't go around eavesdropping on them, they should do the same.”  Taking a breath though, Giselle’s hard visage softened as she ran through Neria’s tightly bound amber locks.  It didn’t take much to undo the bun the cleric kept her hair in, and with a few gentle, and precise, pulls on the bindings, Neria’s beautiful brown hair fell down her hair in waves of shimmering amber.  “But if it makes you feel better, I agree with you.  They might be a bit eccentric, but they seem like good people.  Even that fucking bard isn’t so bad once you get used to the little turd.”

“Smitten, are we?”  Neria taunted her with a choked laugh.

“With that shallow little piece of shit?  I think I’d rather kiss a spider first.”  Giselle retored with an exasperated grunt before she stood to her feet, away from the bed so her friend could get ready for bed at her own pace.

“Wasnt talking about Scanlan.”  Neria chuckled and glanced up at Giselle from beneath amber locks before turning her blue eyes to the task of getting her armor off, starting with her boots.  It wasn’t long before she was letting out a relieved groan as the metallic, protective, well traveled boots fell to the side with a pair of heavy, slightly resounding clangs.  “Oh...that feels better.”

“You need to lay down, you're clearly getting delusional from lack of rest.”  The drow muttered as she began removing her own leather armor.  Pulling out a simple white, leather shirt and a pair of brown leather breeches, without the added armored padding, it didn’t take much for the ranger to change before she too undid her ponytail, allowing the silver, lustrous locks to fall over her shoulders in much the same way Neria was allowing hers to breathe.

“Whatever you say Giselle.”  Neria replied, still smiling teasingly up at her old friend as she started on the rest of her gear.  Unlike her friend however, Neria didn’t bother pulling out another shirt or pants, preferring to sleep in nothing but her small clothes, although it wasn’t unheard of for the wood elf to sleep ‘skyclad’, that is to say with nothing at all save whatever blankets she chose to wrap around herself during the night.  But for this night, she decided to err, slightly, on the side of caution given their current situation.

Despite the number of times she had seen Neria, with or without clothes on, she still couldn’t help but admire the beautiful woman she had come to appreciate above all others, save for one.  She knew how lucky she was to have found the wood elven cleric when she had, to have gained her friendship as she had when she had needed it most.  The Drow knew she wouldn’t have made it half as far as she had if not for her at her side.  The good feeling faded though when a familiar, dark presence made its opinion known once more, laughing mockingly in the recesses of her being that it had been pushed to once already.  It wouldn’t be silenced so easily this time however.

_ Ahh, another you will inspire to follow you, only to be killed by your selfish ambition. Like all the others you have failed.  You’re a fool if you think there’s a happy ending waiting for you at the end of your life. _

“-elle!  Giselle!”  Blinking rapidly, it wasn’t until Giselle’s vision returned that she saw that Neria had her hands on her shoulders, her face only a few inches away from her.

“Wha….what’d I do?”  She asked, suddenly very afraid that she had done something horrible during her momentary lapse.  It had been years since the last time she had slipped up in that sense, but it was not something Giselle liked to think about.

“Nothing, nothing happened, you just blanked out for a moment.”  Neria reassured her, and relaxed the grip she had on the Drow’s shoulders, only to follow her long time friend to the floor as Giselle’s legs gave out on her and she slid down the wall behind her.

“Gods….I don’t know how much more of this I can take, Neria.  Anytime I blackout….I’m afraid of what I’ll wake up to….if I wake up.”  Giselle whimpered into the crook of Neria’s neck as she joined her on the floor.  Just like that, their roles had changed, from Neria being the supportive one out of the two.

“I know, I know.”  She whispered, and it was Neria’s turn to wrap her arms around her visibly shaken friend.

“You need to leave me before this gets any worse.  Let me go before I hurt you, I'd never forgive myself.”  Giselle started to look away, only for Neria to put a hand on her cheek, keeping her looking right into the cleric’s face despite her desire to look away.

“You should know by now that I’ll never leave you to fight alone against this thing, Giselle.  You’re stuck with me, even if we were not trapped in a world not our own.  I will never, ever, leave your side, no matter what happens, so never ask me to leave again.  And don’t even think to try to leave my side, because I’ll simply track you down, alone, if I must.”  Giselle could only look up into Neria’s hard set face, before a grateful, solitary tear rolled down her black cheek.  The cleric smiled and gently wiped away the tear with the pad of her thumb before a holy, divine, white light started to pour off of the cleric and into Giselle’s body.  The warmth brought on by the Greater Restoration was all encompassing, coupled with Neria’s natural compassion and sympathy for her plight.

When it was over, and she was able to open her eyes without fear of going blind from the light Neria had generated during her casting, Giselle managed a watery smile in response.  “Alright, I won't try and run, if only for your glowing personality.”

Neria rolled her eyes as she helped Giselle to her feet.  “If only I could heal your terrible sense of humor as easily.  Oh well, even divine intervention is only capable of so much.”

“Ain’t that the truth?”  Giselle replied, the smile on her face morphing slightly into a grin before it faded completely.  “Thank you, for not listening to me, as usual.”

Neria’s full lips pulled up into a sad, but warm smile as she gently ran a hand across her friend’s face, cupping her cheek.  “I live to serve, but more importantly, we’re friends, and friends stick together no matter what.”  Despite what she had said to Vex, in times like these, where Giselle was so shaken up as she was now, it reminded Neria that any relationship they might have had would not have been built on solid ground.  It didn’t change her feelings for the Drow ranger, but it was a sobering thought to know that there was some otherworldly curse attached to her friend, and it had been there for a very long time.  It was all she could do to keep her friend from giving into her despair when she had suffered a near miss with her curse taking over, let alone when it actually had the few times it had done in the past.

_ Damn straight Neria, proud of you girl. _

Neria couldn't help flinching slightly at the approving male voice that had spoken in her mind, but given what Giselle had just suffered, she decided not to trouble her with it.

_ And Pike, stop listening next to the door before I make you roll a stealth check.  With disadvantage. _

Pike let out a surprised, but thankfully muffled, yelp as she slapped her hands over her mouth before doing her best to walk as quietly, but as quickly, as she could.  She did cock her head to the side however since she had never heard of a ‘stealth roll with disadvantage’, but decided not to push her luck more than she had, deciding a quick exit was the better idea lest their two guests discover her in the hallway.  What she had overheard had given her a lot to think about anyway, as had the use of a Greater Restoration spell no less.  Something was obviously wrong with the woman’s friend, and her heart went out to the pair.

It was only after the hallway was completely deserted and devoid of any of the keep’s residents did a figure in a purple robe, the hood pulled low over the man’s face, appear as if he’d always been there.  Giving the guest bedroom an amused, sidelong smirk, he stared down the hallway where Pike had just quietly walked down before he disappeared in a burst of purple light.

_ I think they’ve made good progress already, don’t you dear readers? _

**End Notes:** **_Vergil1989_ ** :   _ EPIC FOURTH WALL BREAK FOR THE WIN!  Lol joking aside, as you can see, Mercer is lurking about, doing what he does best.  Mucking about in his ‘pawns’ lives’ as he sees fit in his godlike power, like usual.  You can thank  _ **_Archer83_ ** _ for the idea that Mercer has taken a more ‘direct’ role in this particular tale.  Anyway, hope to hear from you guys and gals in the review section, and we’ll see you next time.  Peace! _


	3. Episode 1.3:  Houseguests, Hijinks, and (Un)Holy Artifacts

**Episode 1.3: Houseguests, Hijinks, and (Un)Holy Artifacts.**

“So, who's the poor sod who gets to check on our guests this lovely morning?”  Percy asked, half expecting everyone around the table to be tapping their noses before he even finished speaking.  For once, he was pleasantly disappointed in this case, although a large part of his friends’ maturity likely had to do with the fact most of them were too busy stuffing their respective faces.  Not that he could blame them given the fact they had barely escaped with their lives, _again_ , from the Underdark just the other day.  Hard, dried jerky and trail rations didn’t make for good eating even without the oppressive atmosphere of miles upon miles of lightless caverns running in every direction.

“I’ll go.”  Everyone in the kitchen area looked to Pike as if she had grown a second head.  She only shrugged at the collection of mixed looks, ranging from slight curiosity to abject surprise.  “What?  I think they’re real nice people, and other than being a bit….cautious-”

“Let’s not forget a bit quick to draw steel on people.”  Vex muttered none too quietly, making it abundantly clear she was still a bit upset over yesterday’s incident with her brother almost losing his head.

“Water under the bridge dear sister, or blood already not spilled, if you prefer.”  Vax countered, leaning against the kitchen stone top counter, a cup of watered down ale in hand.

Pike went on as if she hadn’t heard a word. “,and you didn’t hear what I did last night.”

“You were eavesdropping?  Pike, tell me you didn’t eavesdrop without me?!”  Scanlan protested enthusiastically, his surprised grin all but encompassing his face at the revelation.  “I always knew you had it in you my lovely Pike.”

“Haha, picked up a few bad habits from your boyfriend Pike?”  Grog said with mocking laughter, which only rose in volume when Pike none to gently whacked him with her gauntleted fist.  “Haha, that tickles!”  The fact he had pieces of toast, mashed potatoes, and gravy clinging to his jovial, tattooed face, went unnoticed or completely ignored by everyone, save the occasional endearingly warm smirk or look, Grog’s mood matching everyone else’s for the most part despite their new houseguests that had yet to come downstairs for breakfast.

Which had led to them talking about who to send upstairs to check on them.  “Well, if Pike wants to go, why not?  It would certainly be better than sending Scanlan.”  Tiberius mused, nursing a cup of steaming tea in his scaly hands.

“Hey!”  Scanlan protested, far less amused this time.  “I can be a perfect gentleman, when I want to be.”  Like Grog, Scanlan had a plate piled high with mashed potatoes and pieces of toast with a large helping of gravy on the side, but unlike Grog, he wasn’t wearing most of it all over his face.  He had better table manners than his barbarian friend, although that wasn’t saying much.

Keyleth gently rested a hand on the gnome’s shoulder, ever so slightly tightening her grip.  “It’s not that we don't trust you Scanlan, but.... Pike, get clanking would you?”  She finished, turning towards the cleric in question.

Ignoring Scanlan’s feigned pouting, Pike chuckled with a shake of her blonde head as she hopped out of her chair.  “Will do Kiki.”  She stated happily, her cheer pretty infectious as she walked away to the stairwells on either side of the hall that connected to the kitchen, as well as a number of side chambers on the first floor.  Passing a chamber devoted to Sarenrae, her personal goddess of choice, Pike paused and said a little prayer to her patron before moving onward.  She didn’t get far before she saw the Drow and her companion coming down just as she reached the first step on the right side.  “Oh, good morning.”

“Morning.”  Giselle stated simply, but despite her stern expression, a noticeable weight seemed to have been lifted from her shoulders during the night.  A weight Pike pretended not to notice as she followed the dark skinned ranger and her companion back into the kitchen.

Neria was as cheerful as ever though, and looked to be well rested despite last night’s hardships that the gnome had stumbled upon.  “Thank you for allowing us to stay within your wonderful home, and again I...apologize for any inconvenience I might have caused over your half orc allies here.  It is….an old tale.”  She finished softly, her blue eyes downcast at having caused their hosts trouble, while hinting at what most of them suspected at the same time.

“No inconvenience at all, my young lady.”  A kindly looking grey haired halfling gentleman told her as he set tea for two on the table.

“Hope you brought your appetites!  I've got eggs and bacon, fresh fruit, and toast.  Now sit yerselves down and enjoy!”  A plump, smiling human woman said about the same time, wearing a long apron over her simple dress as she bustled about the kitchen.  Vax offered the older woman a grateful look as he stepped away from the counter just as she reached his side, a heavy iron pot in hand that she set aside for more tea for the group.  “Thank ye kindly Vax’ildan.”  She said when Vax reached out and steadied her arm when it looked like she was about to lose her grip on the pot, but his assistance wasn’t needed.  She still gave him a quick, grateful look for the assist though.

“You don’t have to trouble yourself for us all the time, Laina.”  Vax said, something in his voice making Giselle and Neria think this was not a new argument with the two servants under their employ.

“That's what ya pay me for, last I checked.”  Laina retorted without missing a beat as she prepared a fresh pot of tea while the older, halfling gentleman went about the process of preparing more of that morning’s breakfast at the same time.

“Ah don’t you worry your pretty head none at all Vax, we happen to like it here.”  Erwen chimed in, before seemingly producing another helping of mashed potatoes, gravy, and more toast out of the ether.  In truth he didn’t, but the halfling knew his way around the kitchen with a familiarity that belied his long experience of having worked for the group that owned the keep.

“Can't blame you Erwen, it certainly beats slaying dragons.”  Vex muttered into her glass of wine with an all but audible eye roll.

“Dragon, dear sister, no need to exaggerate to impress our guests.”  Vax droned, utterly bored from the sound of his voice.

“Don’t forget those fuck all shadowy demon things that were possessing Uriel and his family.”  Grog chimed in, and waved his massive arms to encompass the Keep as a whole.  “Why do ya think we have this place?”

“Thievery?”  Giselle deadpanned between bites of the good meal she’d been given by Laina.

“I was going to say that Scanlan conned the Sovereign myself.”  Neria said, a teasing gleam all too easy to see in her eyes as she took a moment between bites to add her two coppers into the conversation.

“I’m good, but I’m not quite that good.”  Scanlan admitted, smirking good naturedly up at the cleric across from him.

“Actually, it was a gift from the Sovereign, out of gratitude for our assistance.” Percy informed the pair with a curt nod. “Not that I can blame you for thinking otherwise given our... shall we say diverse talents.”

“That’s one way of saying it I suppose.”  Giselle admitted, but gave Percy a flicker of a smile before her face returned to her neutral, stony expression.  Dabbing up some of her mashed potatoes and gravy off of her plate with the remnants of the toast she had left, she took a moment to savor the mish mash she was soon swallowing down before crossing her arms, and looking towards the gunslinger.  “So, mercenary group?  Guild?  Simple adventurers?  Trying to get a feel for what we’ve gotten ourselves mixed up in this time.”

“We prefer to think of ourselves as guardians, protectors of the innocent, who sometimes get paid extremely well.”

“So mercenaries with a conscience.”  Giselle deadpanned while giving Scanlan a withering look that did little to deflate the bard’s ego, or his enthusiasm.

“And what are you two exactly?”  Vex asked, looking over her wine glass’s rim with barely contained disdain directed at Giselle.  “Traveling companions?  Old friends?  Bandit lovers perhaps?”

“I suppose you could say partners, in what depends on whatever challenges a new day brings.”  Neria replied after giving her words a measure of thought before uttering them.

“So adventurers.”  Vex deadpanned in turn, but her bored tone was offset somewhat by the soft, warm smile she gave Neria for the explanation on her part.  “At least you’re easier to talk to than your friend, and a fair bit less volatile for that matter.”

“I _did_ apologize for yesterday’s mishap.”  Giselle grumbled under her breath, her arms crossed under her chest as she glared across the way towards her half elven counterpart.

“Quite right, so I think it would be best to put all this silliness behind us Vex.”  Percy butted in, while giving the half elven ranger a look that was two parts disappointed and one part reprimanding, which went largely ignored.

“Well I am the forgiving type, but Trinket, not so much.  Do be careful around him dear, wouldn't want that gorgeous obsidian face mauled beyond recognition would we?”

“I have my own animal companion, and she has bigger claws than your oversized plush toy.”  Giselle replied, her brown eyes brimming in open challenge as her right hand slowly went to her belt pouch, and produced an onyx figurine which she set on the table in front of her.

“Is that a magical summoning figurine?”  Tiberius asked, his eyes immediately falling on the object the Drow had set on the table with open fascination.  “I haven’t seen one of those since leaving Draconia.”  The figurine was in the shape of a great hunting cat in mid stride, as if forever captured in the middle of the creature hunting down her prey.  It was a beautiful piece, and if the magical emanations the more arcane attuned among the group could detect, it was indeed what Tiberius believed it capable of.

“I'm guessing it summons something magical.”  Scanlan mocked, always ready to get a rise out of the stuffy draconian dragonborn.

“Yes, the study of such creatures is a secret passion of m-”

“Shut it Tibby.  No one asked you for another long winded explanation.”  Vax interrupted the sorcerer before blowing out an annoyed breath at the pair of women on either side of the kitchen.  It was becoming painfully apparent that his sister and the ranger at the table were going to be at each other’s throats as long as they were in the same room.

“By all means, please show us what your little bauble can do.  Are you going to throw it?  Is that how it works?” Vex asked with a sneering grin.

Neria sighed and ran a hand across her forehead as Giselle just smirked, stood to her feet, and grasped the panther figurine in her right hand.  Walking away from the table, she set the statue on the ground at her feet.  Ignoring Vex’s barb completely, the Drow said a simple phrase that echoed across the very planes of existence.  “Guenhwyvar, come to me, my shadow.”  When she did, a thick, black mist started to emanate from the figurine at her feet.  It began to take on shape and mass within the swirling black mist, before the disturbance disappeared, and revealed a six hundred pound panther sitting next to the once more mundane appearing figurine.  The looks on most of the group’s faces were quite amusing to the Drow as she turned to face them.

“What the merciful shit?!”  Scanlan shouted as he rapidly scrambled back from the newly arrived feline killing machine in their kitchen.  “Good kitty, there's a good vicious beast.  Eat Vex, she's the one who insulted you, not purely innocent little me.”

“Your bravery astounds the mind.” Percy quipped, resting his hand on the Pepper Box's grip.

Guenhwyvar chose that moment to roll onto her side with a great, bored sounding yawn, her emerald, luminescent eyes turned towards the ranger at her side.  Grog grinned and gave a cheerful growl at the giant cat in their living room.  “D’awww!  She’s so cute and muscly!”  To the utter terror of his friends, Grog immediately knelt down by the huge cat and started scratching her massive, black, muscle packed belly.  The powerfully built panther gave a contented growl and leaned her head up towards the barbarian, flicking her tongue out over her furry mouth before laying back down to be pampered with attention from the somewhat simple minded warrior.

“She’s a lazy furball most of the time, but she’s harmless….unless I need her to tear out someone’s throat.”  Giselle informed them good naturedly, although the idle threat in her voice hadn’t gone unnoticed by Vex.  Try as she might though, she couldn’t help but smile at the all too happy goliath.

“Can we keep her?!  Aww, big old softy you are!”

Keyleth couldn’t help but stare down in open amazement at the magically summoned panther despite the terror on Scanlan’s face and the unease in Percy’s.  “I think she’s pretty, but she’s obviously old, far older than any animal I’ve ever seen.  Where did you get such a creature, Giselle?”

Giselle looked up towards the druid, not about to ask how she knew Guenhywvar was indeed as old, older really, than she might have guessed, her face taking on an unusually thoughtful veneer, as her brown eyes became misty, lost in old memories from her much younger years.  “That story is about as old as the one attached to my blades, Keyleth.  But suffice it to say, Guenhwyvar’s been a part of my life from nearly day one.  She’s a valued, trusted companion of my family, not a mere summoned creature to be commanded.  Her loyalty has always been earned, not demanded, as is the case with nearly every other entity like her.”

“Well in that case, can you politely ask her to go back from whence she came?”  Scanlan asked as he tried to make himself as small and insignificant as possible.

Pike fought the strong impulse to chuckle at Scanlan’s discomfort as she soon joined Grog next to the great hunting cat.  “I wouldn’t deprive Grog of a new friend.  Besides, I think she’s amazing too.”  Guenhywvar chose that moment to wriggle free of Grog’s massive hand that was running through her fur, and stared into Pike’s face.  The cleric reached out with a hand, and was rewarded with a contented growl as the panther nuzzled into her armored gauntlet.  Scratching behind her ears, Pike smiled wider still while Giselle looked on in approval at the ease her old friend accepted the group at large.

“Yes, amazingly good at killing shit no doubt.  Bet she's turned more than a few nasty fuckers into a nice meal.”  Vax stated with a hint of admiration, even if he was currently fingering the hilt of his keen dagger.

“Oh she has, more than all of us put together, let me tell you.”  Giselle stated without a moment of thought.  “And I wouldn’t bother trying to draw one of those daggers of yours Vax, she’d have your hand, and your throat ripped out, before you could try.  She likes you though, and if Guen approves of you all for having just met you, then who am I to argue?”

“Yes, good gigantic mystical cat thing.”  Guenhwyvar’s annoyed growled was all the hint Scanlan needed as his mouth snapped shut.

Pike tapped the giant cat on the nose, which earned her a confused blink from the summoned creature.  “Behave yourself.”

Giselle chuckled at the sight, and shrugged when Guen looked towards her for help.  “Don’t look at me, you had that coming.”

“Is anyone thinkin what I'm thinkin?”  Grog bellowed with barely contained enthusiasm.

“I highly doubt it Grog.” Tiberius muttered before returning to his breakfast.

“Alright, picture this, we get Trinket and Guenny here in a ring and-"

“Absolutely not!”  Vex and Giselle both shouted to their mutual surprise.

“Awww, but Bear vs Panther wrestling!  It'd be glorious!”  Grog protested, having already gotten the idea in his head and he wasn’t likely to let it go without a fight.  At the very least, an enthusiastic argument, but judging from the looks he was getting from both rangers, this particular argument was a lost cause from the start.

That sentiment became all too apparent when both Vex and Giselle said the same thing in an equally deadpanned tone.  “No.”

“Indeed, there's no need to mortify Giselle’s precious pussy cat.”  Keyleth was quick to point out.

“Rarrhhmmm?”  A confused sounding Trinket growled as he spotted the panther and cautiously sniffed the air.

Guen gave a low curious growl in return, and slowly, lazily, started stalking towards Trinket, before causally slumping next to the armored bear with a content whine.

“Damn.  Didn't see that one comin’.”  A despondent Grog muttered under his breath.

“Hey, tell your nosy beast to stop bothering Trinket!”  Vex shouted, and started towards the pair of animals in the center of the hallway with the intention of getting Guenhwyvar away from her very confused looking bear.  Before she could get close though, Giselle was standing in front of her, her arms crossed and her face hard set once more because when it came to her longtime companion, no one told her what to do with the magically summoned panther.

“I don’t _tell_ Guen to do anything, or did you forget that part already?”  Giselle retorted sharply before offering her fellow ranger a nonchalant shrug.  ‘Sides, I don’t see the harm in our animals getting along better than we’ve been thus far, _Vex_.”

Trinket chose that moment to give a tired huff and rest his snout against the panther’s side, which Guenhwyvar accepted with another contented growl.  Ignoring Giselle as she looked over her shoulder, Vex chose to instead to futilely shout at her seemingly traitorous bear.  “Hey, bad Trinket, no snuggling!”

Neria and Pike chose _that_ moment to share an exasperated sigh and mutter under their breaths, ‘Rangers.”  The way they said it pretty much echoed the other’s thoughts perfectly.  For them, it was always amusing and equally annoying to have to drag along their companions’ respective animal friends, but in this case Neria had it the easier since Giselle’s could be summoned and sent home to her home plane, the Astral Plane, at will.  Vex’s bear however, wasn’t so magically gifted, and had to be dragged along wherever she went, which had resulted in more than a few….complications with the rest of her group.  The fact Scanlan had tried, and thus far failed, to leave Trinket behind on more than one occasion was a well known fact among the group.

“Well I say we leave these lovebirds in peace and deal with any preparations for.... that thing we're doing.”  Percy said as he started to collect the remnants of his breakfast, stacking up his plates before going to the simple sink to deposit them for later cleaning.  Once that was taken care of, he regarded their two new guests, before coming to a decision.  While there wasn’t an ‘official’ chain of command, his opinion and judgment was generally well received and respected.  “As for you two, so long as there’s not any trouble, you’re free to stay or go as you wish.  The fact Trinket seems to like you notwithstanding, Grog would get mildly upset if you deprived him of a chance to wrestle your giant panther.”  Guenhwyvar chose that moment to growl in agreement, as if to agree with the thought Percy had left out there.

Giselle couldn’t help but chuckle before looking to Neria and her new best friend.  “The feeling is apparently mutual in regards to your cleric and mine, Percy.  I don’t see a problem with staying.”  Neria’s bright and happy smile was reason enough to stay in the Drow’s opinion.

“Well I do.  Your giant cat is corrupting my bear.”  Vex grumbled underneath her breath.

“Oh don’t be such a party pooper, Vex.”  Grog said as he slapped a heavy hand on the half elf woman’s shoulder, almost sending her tumbling to the ground when he did.  “I like the pretty kitty.”

“Grog, you like anyone that you can wrestle without breaking their necks.”  Scanlan droned in retort, before he corrected himself, “although you like anything you can just wrestle, period.”

“Ha!  Like those fine dwarven ladies we had a tumble with back in-"

“Don't remind me, my pelvis is still numb, not to mention my screaming lower back.”  Scanlan groaned and rubbed at his lower back with his right hand.  It wasn’t until he saw a shadow fall over him that he looked up and saw an amused gleam in the elven cleric’s pretty blue eyes.  “It was worth it though.”  He was quick to add, a charming grin pulling at his lips as he leaned back into his seat.

Giselle had to bite her tongue as Neria sat down next to the incorrigible bard.  He had no idea what he was getting himself into as a delicately sun kissed hand found its way onto his shoulder.  For once, the bard was utterly captivated and unable to form a coherent response as he met Neria’s gaze head on, a mistake on his part as Giselle well knew, given her….unique path in the healing arts.  “Truly?  I would hear more of your adventures, both on the road, and elsewhere, if you would be willing to share of course.”  She all but purred, her soft, musical voice only further enhancing her almost otherworldly charm.  It was a sight, to be sure, for those that hadn’t seen Neria at work.

“Ah, um.... sure, I'll tell you anything you'd like to know.”  Scanlan replied, finding it hard not to agree with almost anything Neria requested of him.

“What….the shit?”  Vax gaped, his gaze darting between a surprised Pike, a seemingly dazed Scanlan, and an equally surprised Vex as they and the rest of the group watched this play out.  Giselle meanwhile found it increasingly difficult not to laugh as Neria charmed the silver tongued bard with no visible effort on her part.

Keyleth was just downright stunned, her naivete and her own inexperience playing more than a little part in her own entrancement as she too found it difficult not to agree with Scanlan’s admittedly dazed response and the sentiment behind his words.  All she could do was nod in agreement, the desire to please this otherworldly, beautiful woman the only thing on her mind.  Even in full mithril platemail, the druid couldn’t help but stare, enraptured, by the wood elf that was so close yet so far.  This was a true blooded elf, not a mere shadow of the elven race as she, Vex, and Vax were, and it made the druid more than a little envious to be so close to such an elegant, confident woman that seemed to be perfectly at ease with herself and those around her.

Tiberius was the only one not dazed in the slightest, or otherwise enchanted as he observed the proceedings with a completely clinical gaze as he sipped at his morning tea.  It was interesting to see Scanlan so utterly undone by the admittedly pretty elven woman, but the dragonborn was above such things as petty desire of any sort, outside of his studies in the arcane of course….and a certain elven mage that was a part of the Tal’Dorie Council.  But in that moment he was far more fascinated with the ranger’s magical panther, but he had a healthy respect for the obvious bond between the two.  If Vex and Trinket was anything to go by, trying to examine the giant panther without both the animal and her mistress’s approval would likely end with him being turned into bloody ribbons.  “Hmm, yes aren't you the fine specimen?”  Guen’s annoyed growl dissuaded him from further conversation as she playfully nipped at one of Trinket’s ears.  “Well you don’t have to be so rude about it.”  Tiberius muttered under his breath, and harrumphed when the panther flicked her tail dismissively at him in response.

Having seen enough for one day, Percy cleared his throat, loudly, breaking whatever magical hold the elven woman had over Scanlan, and to a slightly lesser degree, Keyleth when he did.  “Okay the interspecies love fest in our kitchen has officially freaked me out.”

Pike was similarly unaffected by the strange magic Neria seemed to be using just by her presence alone, but she did breathe a little easier when the elven woman blushed demurely at the chastisement before slipping out of the chair next to Scanlan with an apology.  “It’s alright Neria, but I am curious about your power.  I don’t think I’ve seen someone so easily wrap Scanlan around their finger like that.”  She replied, far more amazed by Neria’s display than jealous.  It had been harmless from her perspective, so she saw no harm in the entire thing, even if the fact it had unnerved their noble gunslinger had the gnome smiling a little to herself.

“She can do whatever she likes with me as far as I'm concerned.”  Scanlan purred with a familiar evil twinkle in his eye, making his thoughts on the matter all too readily apparent, before he shook off the last of Neria’s magical influence and he looked up towards the blushing enchantress.  “But that does raise a good question my charming cleric.  Just what kind of power allows you to so easily enthrall so many?  Outside of certain denizens from the Abyssal planes I’ve heard about during my travels, I’m not sure there are a lot of people that could do what you do.”

Neria waited a moment, more so her cheeks could stop burning with her mild embarrassment at having played up her role in life a little too much, before answering the bard’s inquiry.  “Well, I am willing to answer your questions Scanlan, but I must ask one in turn before I do.”

“Loose your pointed question, I'm all a quiver.” Scanlan replied, delighting in the annoyed sneer on Vex’s lips.

Neria gave the bard a brief little smile before letting her gaze fall on each of the members of the group, gauging their reactions to her cautious question a moment ago.  Most of them were curious, as was to be expected.  Keyleth as well as Pike were leaning forward in anticipation to varying degrees, while Scanlan was practically wriggling about in his seat in eagerness to know more about her, which also didn’t surprise the wood elven cleric in the slightest.  While Percy tried to feign disinterest, it didn’t take much, despite his earlier discomfort, that he was just as curious as most of his friends were.  What did surprise her though was how Vax seemed utterly bored with the conversation, while Vex’s mix of annoyance and curiosity wasn’t so out of the usual in her experience.  Grog was too busy with Guenwhyvar to care, while Tiberius was simply sipping his tea, but the occasional glance her way said he was still listening to the conversation at the very least.  Giselle knew the story and her chosen profession from their many years on the road together, so her attention being focused elsewhere didn’t bother her in the slightest.

As such, Neria found it easy to talk about an admittedly sensitive subject in most social circles.  “Alright, then let me ask you this.  Have any of you heard of sacred prostitutes?”  The response was almost immediate as Tiberius sputtered and coughed into his tea cup while Percy and Vax felt their eyebrows shoot to their respective hairlines.

“Forgive me if this sounds indelicate ... but are you a um, how best to put this-"  Keyleth trailed off, uncertain if she had heard Neria correctly.

“A Sacred Prostitute?”  Scanlan immediately asked, silencing Keyleth before she had a chance to finish her earlier statement even if she had had the voice to do just that.  His interest though was all too easy to see on his little gnome face.

“Oh that's actually far more noble than what I... never mind.”  Pike trailed off this time as she looked towards Scanlan, before deciding to simply shut her mouth lest she say something she shouldn't by mistake alone rather than veiled disrespect.

“”Pardon me?  I don’t think I heard you right.”  Percy asked, trying not to sound utterly floored by that rather….curious bit of information about the wood elf at their table.  The brightening red tint to his cheeks told another story however, which Giselle picked right up on.

“Oh you did.”  Giselle deadpanned, once more fighting a strong impulse to chuckle at the brightening of the gunslinger’s cheeks.  “Sounds like a contradiction in terms doesn’t it?  But I can assure you, where we come from, it’s a very real thing.”

“I do most of what all clerics do, but I simply choose to be a bit more….hands on than most.”  Neria chuckled a little sheepishly as she rubbed the back of her neck in mild embarrassment as she tried to reassure the group at large.  It was always awkward at best, talking about her choice of profession with new people, but at least this bunch had thus far simply given her a number of awkward, embarrassed, or increasingly curious glances.  Deciding to explain further was likely the best course, Neria thanked Erwen when he put a similarly cup of tea in front of her as Tiberius had almost spit out all over his robes.  Along with the tea, she soon had an accompanying plate of food, she took a moment to savor the rich, savory smells wafting up into her nose.  Taking a sip from her tea first, she nodded her gratitude to the older gentleman before beginning once more.  “My aura is not mind control, or a charm of a similar nature if you’re worried about that.  It simply makes talking to me easier to do, especially when I purposely apply it.  If I had had a mind to, I could have easily gotten you to speak freely, as if you had imbibed several glasses of wine, but it would have been under your own power for the most part.  I just make it easier to be at peace and contented when in my presence.”  Looking down at her glass, Neria sighed heavily.  “I will not lie though, that aspect of what I am is open to great abuse, but I have never done so.  I can however tell you with great certainty, that some Sacred Prostitutes have used their influence for political and personal gain, either for the temples they serve, or for their own selfish ambition.  Either way, while we promote sexual freedom and an open mindedness in all that we do, not all of us are pure in our intentions.”

“That can be said of any profession, dear.”  Vex was quick to point out, which earned a relieved sigh from the elven cleric.  The half elf ranger smiled briefly and even winked at Neria before sighing herself, giving up her pointless crusade in trying to get Guenhwyvar away from her bear.  Besides, as much as she might not have liked her dark elven counterpart, it did warm her heart to see their two animal companions getting along as she sat down close to her brother, her gaze never leaving Neria’s face.  “But I do appreciate your honesty on the matter.  That does raise the question, are you paid for your….services?”

Out of all the questions she had expected, that one wasn’t one that came up normally.  Neria had to take a moment to process it before a light peal of laughter escaped her.  “N-not usually no, all money earned in such a manner normally goes to the temple I serve.”  She explained as she tried to get her giggling under control.  Once she had, her earlier, slight discomfort had disappeared completely thanks to Vex’s question.  “I can refuse any advancement that is made for my talents, since in most societal circles among the towns and cities that know of my particular profession, Sacred Prostitutes are greatly respected and honored guests, but once an agreement has been settled upon, any donations made are put to use by the temple priests and priestesses to use as they deem necessary to maintain the temple itself.  I am allowed to keep a small percentage of it for myself, but adventuring, exploring old ruins, such things of that nature more often than not keep me comfortably well fed and content.”

“It helps she’s always so humble and frugal in most respects.”  Giselle stated in an offhanded manner with another shrug of her shoulders.  “If it doesn’t involve enhancing what she does, such as splurging on clothing that is more lingerie than your average nightwear, massage oils or whatever, she doesn’t go out of her way to spend a lot of money.  Armor and supplies for our travels are another matter, but even then she tends not to spend more than she has to.  Beyond that, while exceptionally rare, there has been a couple of occasions I’ve had to step in when someone got a bit too rough with her.  They never come around twice, I can tell you.”

“Somehow that doesn’t surprise me.”  Percy deadpanned, but he and Vax shared a nod that said they were thinking the same thing.  He’d be a real stupid idiot to tempt fate, and the ranger’s fury, by even considering laying a hand on the wood elf in such a crude, aggressive manner.  Still, it was reassuring to know that Neria wasn’t without someone to look out for her, even if she was capable of taking care of herself, which they weren’t foolish enough to believe otherwise.  That said, he couldn’t help but shudder as his imagination conjured up the vivid image of a furious, dark skinned elven warrior bursting into the room, scimitars in hand before stopping just short of his neck.  Although if that was before or after she kicked his face in, Percy wasn’t sure, only that he was in no hurry to find out.  Instead of focusing on that further, he considered his own question that desired an answer, before finding the courage to speak up.  “So….what made you decide to go down this path in life, Lady Zathrial was it?”

He immediately regretted asking when Neria’s eyes lost their sparkle and she looked blankly down at her plate.  The way Giselle chose to look up at him with a slow shake of her head pretty much clued him, and the rest of the group, Grog included when he noticed the uneasy silence that fell over the kitchen, that he should have kept his mouth shut.  Before he could muster up the courage to apologize, Neria looked up and blew out a breath that had a stray, amber lock that had fallen over her face being pushed aside briefly.  Taking a second to pull it aside and tucking it behind her pointed ear, she leaned back and let her gaze encompass the whole room.  “Let us say that I owe….my old master that trained me in the cleric arts, a debt I could never hope to repay.  By doing what I can do help aid all that I encounter, I honor his memory and what he did for me when I needed the same, many years ago.”

“How interestingly vague, yet tantalizing at the same time.  Tell me, how exactly did this master of yours train you to... service those you aid?”  Scanlan’s question broke the uneasy air that had fallen over the room, and while Giselle shot the bard a withering glare, Neria’s brief giggle had the gnome grinning widely.  “What?  That was a legitimate question.”

“He didn’t.”  She chuckled softly, but held up a hand before anyone could ask for further clarification.  “I had to learn to be a cleric before I found my way to a temple dedicated to Sune, a goddess devoted to beauty, passion, and love.  My first patron however, has always been that of the elven god of war, protection, and the elven arts.  His name is Corellan Larethain, the creator of all elven kind, and he who originally exiled the dark elves into their lightless homes in the Underdark, long ago.”

“Quite the renaissance deity, even if he sounds like a prick.”  Vax observed as he casually twirled a dagger out of boredom.

“That might be true, but it wasn’t without a damned good reason, and more importantly, he spared his daughter, who was also a dark elf.  She had not committed the same crimes against the other gods as most of her kin had though, so she was rightfully spared the same punishment”  Neria stated, and nodded to Giselle, as if emphasising the truth that not all Drow were created the same.

Vex was the first to get the hint and nodded minutely.  Sighing heavily as she realized how much of an ass she’d been, she turned to Neria and Giselle in equal measure, an apologetic look on her face.  “Perhaps we all have something to learn from such tales.  True or not, I get the hint.”

“‘Bout time sis.”  Vax muttered none too quietly before sheathing the dagger he’d been twirling about with a practiced flick of his wrist.

“I for one didn't need to be reminded. I saw the good in you the moment we first bumped into each other.”  Neria stated with a heartfelt gleam filling her eyes which she directed towards Giselle.

“I know.” Giselle replied, inwardly cursing the growing heat in her cheeks.  “I always knew.”

“I saw the same thing, in case you’re curious.”  Pike chimed in next.  “It wasn’t that hard to notice though.”

“Yes, yes we're all just drow-ning in our love and admiration for Neria’s stalwart companion.”  Scanlan quipped, to the collective groan of everyone around him.

“Oh Scanlan.”  Pike groaned good naturedly, but she smiled at the little bard, beyond used to the bard’s antics.

“Yes my goddess warrior?”  Scanlan asked, leaning forward with a hand under his grinning head.

Ignoring his barely disguised advances, Pike only chuckled and shook her head before addressing Giselle and Neria. “So, what will you two do now?  We plan to head to Vasselheim in a day or so.  Maybe you could come with us?”

“What?  Why?”  Giselle asked with a mildly suspicious look, more than a little surprised by the offer, almost as surprised as Vex was as she too jerked her head to look at the gnome cleric.

“W-well, I just assumed that after yesterday’s meeting with the Sovereign, you hadn’t had a chance to find a new job yet after running into us.  We did kinda hold you up.”  Pike admitted, blushing slightly since it _was_ kind of their fault that the two hadn’t had a chance to find new work.

“That and the Sovereign only hires the best darling.”  Vex implied with a casual shrug, trying her best to look the picture of innocence.  When Giselle only shrugged in response since they had found that out themselves, the half elf continued.  “But the fact Uriel hired you at all means you’re not too shabby in a fight.  I’d breathe a little easier if we happened to be on the same road together.”

“A minute ago you couldn’t stand to be in my presence, now you want to work with me?”  Giselle asked, more amused than offended by where the conversation had wound up.

“We made the mistake of siding with an illithid.”  Keyleth added, but shot the Drow a teasing little smile.  “You at least I don’t get the creeps anytime I so much as look at you.”

“Believe it or not, that was Keyleth’s attempt at a compliment.”  Tiberius helpfully told the frowning Drow.  “She’s not the most socially experienced among us.”

“Thanks for the clarification.”  Giselle replied dryly, but smirked easily all the same as she looked over her shoulder, to see Grog standing over her chair.  Most people would have been at the least, uneasy, to have a giant barbarian standing over them, but the jovial smirk on the goliath’s face set her at ease.  “And what do you think?”

“I imagine you’re really good at killin’ shit dead, and I want a front row seat in the splatter zone.”  While simple in his statement, the sincerity in his voice was hard not to hear as he grinned down at the silver haired woman in front of him.

Giselle couldn’t help but chuckle up at Grog at that rather proud sounding declaration.  “Even for a goliath, you're one blood thirsty son of bitch.....”  She trailed off, a little amazed by this fact that was becoming evident from what little she’d seen of him thus far, but she felt perfectly safe around the massive warrior as he blushed a little at her praise.

“Hehe, thanks!  I try my best.”  Grog happily informed her with a nod, a blush flushing his gray cheeks, turning them several shades bluer.  What came out of his mouth next however, had most of the group blinking in more than a little astonishment.  “Personally though, I don’t see what the big deal is.  You’re here, you’re obviously not wantin’ to gut us like all those stupid graybeards, and you’re not wantin’ to eat our brains like those squid faces, so you can’t be that bad right?”  Grog’s grin morphed into an interested leer.  “Actually, I can sort of see the appeal-”

“Alright big guy, I'm strangely flattered, but not interested.”  Giselle stated, feeling somehow gratified and annoyed at the same time, and chuckled up at the barbarian’s less than subtle, if harmless, advance towards her.

“Wait, he can flirt with you but I can’t?  What’s the deal there?”  Scanlan protested in such a way that most of the group wondered if his head was about to explode from his abject surprise at this strange turn of events.

“It helps that he doesn’t make me want to puke, bard.”  Giselle deadpanned in retort.

“But he smells like a goat with diarrhea, I mean, _really_?!”  Scanlan fumed, clearly stunned that anyone of the female persuasion could favor the reeking goliath over him.

Vax was quick to point out something that should have been obvious to the bard however, further deflating his over inflated ego in the process.  “And yet that doesn’t stop you from visiting every brothel and whorehouse between here and Kraghammer with Grog, eh Scanlan?”  When Scanlan could only splutter and point uselessly at the half elf rogue, Vax grinned in response to the gnome’s fumbling about before he finally sighed and sagged in his chair, defeated by Vax’s logic.

“Also, I've noticed that rangers aren't the most hygienic people in the world.”  Neria quipped with a twinkle in her blue eyes.  “So some of them might prefer a more... manly scent than the perfume you applied rather copiously this morning.”

“She’s got us there.”  Giselle mused, while Vex grumbled something under her breath that sounded quite unflattering to the Drow, but it still had both rangers smiling begrudgingly at the cleric for her quick turn of phrase.

“Ha!  I win Scanlan, go pout while ya put on some more girly scent.”  Grog chuckled from deep in his chest, having missed the joke entirely.

“I don’t think that was a compliment, Grog.”  Scanlan informed his good friend.

“Gnome who the Drow doesn't want to fuck says what?”  Giselle said, and shot Scanlan a look that had him blinking in confusion.

“What? ....Dammit.”  He realized too late he had stumbled head first into her well placed verbal trap.  He sighed and shook his head before he hopped off of his chair, and gave the Drow a low bow at the waist.  “I concede defeat to you, my witty dark enchantress…..for the moment at least.”  He was quick to add before addressing the room at large with a clap of his hands.  “So, what’s the plan then?  We have most of the day to ourselves, barring any unexpected trouble of course.”

“We never did agree if we’d go with you, you know.”  Giselle was quick to state before the conversation moved too far along.  When Neria started to open her mouth to protest, she gave her a quick, sidelong glance before saying, “but you’re right, meeting you crazy people _did_ hold us up from finishing our business yesterday.  After getting a chance to get to know you a bit though, I think we could do worse in traveling companions.”

“Indeed, and we could say the same. Well I'll be in my laboratory if anyone needs me.  It seems like every time we leave this Sanctum Santorum, we're inundated with requests for help, so I'll be quite happy to tinker in solidarity.”  With that, Percy chose then to head down to his workshop, leaving the rest of the group to their own devices.

“Well, guess that’s our cue.  On that note, I have business of my own to tend to.  Excuse me.”  Tiberius stated and politely excused himself before he too disappeared deeper into the keep, heading to his arcane workshop.

“I'm going to commune with nature, would anyone like to join me?” Keyleth asked as she hopefully glanced around the room.

“As riveting as that sounds Kiki, I think I'll pass.”  Vax politely refused when her eyes settled on him, choosing that moment to briskly walk out of the kitchen.

“I'll join you Keyleth, we can meditate together.” Pike offered as she fell into step next to the happily surprised druid.

Deciding Guenhwyvar had been around long enough, Giselle reluctantly stepped over to the great panther and knelt down so they were on the same level when the beast raised her head from beneath Trinket’s snout without disturbing the bear’s rest.  Meeting the beautiful, jewel like emerald eyes of the magical panther, something seemed to pass from ranger to creature, and Guenhwyvar nodded her head the faintest amount before she faded away in the same black mist she had created initially.  With a grin, her hand lashed out fast enough to keep Trinket’s snout from crashing into the now air filled stone floor, gently cupping his massive jaw.  The bear gave a confused growl, but flicked his tongue across the Drow’s hand when he saw what had happened before returning to laying his head on the stone floor.  “You’re welcome.”  She said as she gently ran a hand over the bear’s muzzle before standing to her feet.

“Oh, my poor baby, what did that big mean feral cat do?  I won't leave you my pet.”  Vex crooned as she cupped Trinket’s furry face, making something akin to cute baby noises as she did.

Unable to keep her mouth shut to save her life, Giselle looked down at the pair in what could only be mild disapproval.  “ _Pet_?  Well, I know what kind of ranger you are.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”  Vex demanded, looking up towards the Drow with a less than pleased glare from beneath her dark hair that fell slightly over her eyes.

“Nothing, just making an idle observation.”  Giselle replied calmly, but Neria at least could see the truth of her long time friend’s thoughts behind her otherwise neutral visage.

Much to Scanlan’s horror, Grog defused the impending, clothes ripping brawl that was about to occur if the rage in Vex’s eyes was anything to go by.  “Now now ladies, there's no need for hostilities.”  When Vex turned to regard the barbarian with open surprise at his interruption, Giselle chose that moment to slink away before she could turn back to face her with renewed vigor.  By the time Vex recovered from her surprise however, the Drow was back by Neria’s side at the table as if she’d always been there, Guenhwyvar’s figurine in hand which she quickly put away into a belt pouch.

“So, who wants to see if anybody needs shit killed eh?”  Grog waggled his hairless brows, only to frown in confusion when most of the group still in the kitchen rolled their eyes at him.  “ _What_?  I’m bored.”

Neria sighed lightly before flicking her eyes to an obviously intrigued Giselle, who perked up for a moment before returning her face to a more neutral expression just as quickly.  The cleric instead pushed away from the table, her chair’s legs scraping against the stone, and let her gaze fall on the two.  “I do not know who is the worse of you two, but I suppose we could try to find something near town.”  She conceded, which had both Grog and Giselle perking up immediately.

Scanlan let out a loud fake sigh, begrudgingly pushing himself away from the table.  “I better help Grog escort you.  After all, we're more familiar with the surrounding terrain and townspeople.”

“You’ll thank me when we can afford more crap for your shtick, Neria.”  Giselle deadpanned, which earned her a feigned, annoyed huff from the cleric.  Following their example, the Drow ranger also stood away from the table before starting for the guest bedroom to gather the rest their gear.

“You could even call it her lick....okay I'll stop now.”  Scanlan said, trailing off when Giselle looked over her shoulder with a none too amused gleam in her brown eyes.  “You don’t have much of a sense of humor do you?”  When the lights went out, Scanlan let out an unmanly yelp in response.  The last thing he saw was the Drow’s brown eyes flashing before a magical darkness descended upon his person.

“Oh I do, I just have better taste than you.  Why did the gnome starve to death?  Because he couldn't find his way out of the darkness.  Have fun.”  The twins found it incredibly difficult to keep a straight face when Scanlan came barreling out of the globe of darkness Giselle had dropped on his head, looking pale as a sheet as he ran his hands down his face and over his chest, as if checking to be sure he still had all of his limbs attached.  “Why aren't you laughing?  I thought that was quite the humorous jest myself.”

Grog meanwhile was bent over at the waist, his hands on his stomach as he laughed uproariously, before he started to point at Scanlan’s still petrified face.  “Bwahahahaha!  Poor Scanlan, scared of the dark.  Hah!  I don’t think your little legs have ever moved that fast!”

“Gah... that wasn't ... funny at... all!”  Scanlan complained as he gasped

for air, and was immensely relieved when he saw he still had all of his parts.  Once that registered, he glared up at the two in front of him, fuming as he stomped a foot against the floor.  “You can go get eaten by rabid cows for all I care, I'm out!  Go have a jolly good time gutting something, I'm gonna get laid.”  Arcane energy danced around his fingers a moment later, and before anyone could speak further, he opened a shimmering purple magical portal behind him, and stepped through.  And just like that, Scanlan was gone, having opened a Dimension Door that disappeared just as quickly as he did.

“Wow.  That was a little harsh.”  Grog quietly muttered, clearly not used to seeing his friend in such a state.  “Uh, should we go after him?”

“Yeah, we’ll find him.”  Giselle reassured the goliath, and patted him on one giant, muscular arm before turning her gaze on the twins.  “Any ideas where to start looking for your wayward bard?"

“Vex?  VEX?!  Wanna help find Scanlan?”  Grog bellowed, finally managing to get the distracted ranger’s attention.

Vex looked up when Grog bellowed at her, blinked in confusion for a moment, and then looked around before looking towards her brother, who had continued to sulk in the shadows.  “Huh?  Where’d Scanlan go?  What happened?  I’m lost, sorry, was playing with Trinket.”

Grog sighed and started for the door, knowing when a situation was hopeless.  “Nevermind, guess we’re on our own.  Vax?”

“Right behind you big guy.  Come on, might as well show you around while I’m at it.”  Vax droned and beckoned the goliath, Giselle, and Neria along, who wasted little time in following after the rogue.  “Let’s start with the dramatic little shit’s room.”

Heading upstairs to the second floor, they didn’t find Scanlan in his chambers, which was no great surprise.  But Vax started looking a little concerned when they failed to find him in any of his other usual haunts within Greyskull Keep.  “So, whorehouses after all?”  Giselle asked, before looking to the rogue as they peered over the city from the castle’s outerwall.

“Yeah, looks like we might have to start checking every brothel and questionable establishment from here to the Cloudtop.  This could take a while.”  Vax groaned, but when it came to his friend, as annoying as Scanlan was at times, he felt a certain attachment to the little gnome that was hard to rationalize away.

As they headed for the main gate, Jarett ran over to intercept them.  “Um, sorry to trouble you my friend, but-”  He did a quick double take, looking over the newcomers with his best charming grin before returning to his senses.  “Ah, perhaps proper introductions later, there is a... situation brewing which I thought best to inform you of.”

“Well, we're waiting Jarett."

“Right, sorry.”  Jarett replied quickly, “It seems that Scanlan must have a death wish, I caught him fitting with Shayne.”

From the way Vax groaned and visibly sagged, Neria and Giselle got the impression they had every right to worry for the bard’s continued well being.  “Oh fuck.  I get your point.  Thank you Jarett, I'll handle it.”  With that in mind, neither were all that surprised when the rogue took off towards where Jarett had indicated a moment later.  Neria wound up lagging behind as she thanked the guard captain for his assistance before racing off as fast as her full plate armor allowed her.

“So, Shayne, temperamental I take it?”  Giselle asked as they navigated the keep walls side by side.

“No, not exactly, she just doesn’t do bullshit well, like you.”  Vax countered, although when taken side by side, he realized that Giselle was the more light hearted of the two women.  Shayne took things a bit more seriously than most people he’d seen in his life, and while she did her job well, there had been instances where her more stubborn, serious demeanor had clashed with some of the other occupants of the Keep.

Much to Vax’s relief, and Giselle’s mild annoyance, Scanlan was unharmed.  Finding him across the Keep, on the far castle wall, talking to to a fiery red haired human woman, he gave them one glance and sighed when he recognized who it was that had ran up to him and Shayne.  “Oh. .. hello.  Why don't you lot leave us in peace, we were just having the most pleasant conversation.”

Shayne promptly pulled Vax to the side, tersely whispering in his ear. “What the hell is wrong with him?  I've just been humoring him until one of you could get your asses up here.”  The loyal guard looked more annoyed than anything, a definite plus in Scanlan’s case.

“Our apologies, Lady Shayne.”  Neria said, drawing the guard’s gaze on her.  “We’ll take him off your hands from here.”

Shayne blinked and for a moment, was taken aback by the beautiful elven woman she had only then taken notice of.  She chuckled then, and crossed her arms under her chest as she leaned against the balcony.  “No ladies here, but thanks for the help.”  Her amused smile morphed into a frown though when she looked towards the Drow at the wood elf’s side.  “Though I’m not so sure I like the look of your friend.”

It was Neria’s turn to frown as she stared down her nose at Shayne.  “She isn’t the one I’d be concerned about.”  Only Giselle’s gentle but firm grasp on her upper arm stopped the cleric from giving her a more pointed lesson in manners.  Calming somewhat just as quickly, both women blinked when Scanlan chose that moment to stand in front of them.

“Shayne, we might have our differences, but despite what drove me up here in the first place, I can assure you these two are of like mind as the rest of us.” Scanlan glanced down sheepishly for a moment before giving Shayne an honest grin. “Thanks for listening, sorry to bother you.”

“Um, no trouble.  Just don't do that door trick again, almost took your head off.”

“Sometimes it's handy to be short.”  Scanlan shrugged with a laugh, brushing his fingers through the impromptu haircut Shayne had given him with her shortsword.

“I probably don't want to know, but what exactly did you two talk about?”  Vax quietly asked the irritated guard as Giselle and Neria followed after a mildly embarrassed Scanlan.

“How to impress a strong woman mostly, good thing for him he wasn't after me.  Figure it must be one of your guests, both have got enough fire in their eyes that's for sure.”

“Gods help us, the little shit really must have a death wish.  Thank you Shayne, for putting up with Scanlan and not chopping his head off.”  Vax told her with a smirk as he tossed a small pouch of gold to her.  Shayne had the decency to look gratefully surprised as she snatched it out of the air.  “Consider it a bonus, and go nuts, it's Scanlan’s.”

“But, there must be at least two hundred gold-”

“Exactly.”  Vax stated, before he walked away with a simple hand wave over his shoulder, leaving Shayne to look puzzled at his back before shrugging off her surprise just as Neria and Giselle started after the rogue.

“That was rather impressively selfless.”  Giselle mused, her arms crossed under her chest once more as she fell in step with the half elven man as Neria took up position on his other side.  “I’d almost dare to say there’s a heart underneath your cool, almost apathetic demeanor.”

“Oh don't worry, I'm a selfish bastard through and through.  I just wanted to see the look on Scanlan’s face the next time he goes to buy something.”

Giselle snorted in amusement while Neria giggled softly into her hand at Vax’s response.  Despite his words, he wasn’t fooling either of them.  He truly did care, in his unique fashion, and despite Scanlan’s earlier actions, his stepping in between them and Shayne spoke volumes of his character in its own way.  As such, it became increasingly more difficult not to like this strange group the two elves had found themselves entangled with by what most people would have said had been no more than mere chance.  Whatever the case, other than when Scanlan realized Vax had picked his coin pouch from his person, the rest of the day went on without much in the way of excitement.  Aside from an incident with Grog and some unfortunate chickens of course, but the less said about that, the better.

Once things had settled down, and the next day’s preparations had been completed before night rolled around anew, the Keep’s occupants settled in for a welcome night of peace and quiet.  At least, as quiet and peaceful as was normal for Vox Machina anyway.  Still, after their recent ordeals, the group was more than happy for the chance to just relax another night before things went sideways yet again, as was often the case for them.  A sentiment Giselle and Neria understood all too well in their own way, so they were more than happy for the chance to just sit down and have time to recuperate for their own reasons.

The night passed without incident, and they slept well and without complaint.  While it was a little difficult to share the rather small bed, both Giselle and Neria managed well enough without too much difficulty, waking well rested and ready for a new day.  Getting dressed and ready for the morning was a simple affair, and while it hadn’t been their original intent, both the wood elven cleric and drow ranger were content to follow after the group, although the only member of Vox Machina either of them saw so early in the morning was Pike.  Rather, they heard the little gnome in the space devoted to Sarenrae on the first floor, busy completing her morning prayers.

Just as Giselle started past though, the gnome finished up, and looked over her shoulder just as Neria passed by the door, leaving the ranger in full view of the diminutive cleric.  “Oh, good morning.”

Having no safe, polite way to continue past without being incredibly rude, Giselle turned and nodded to the cleric in greeting.  “Hello, sorry to disturb you.  We were just heading to the kitchen for a quick breakfast.”

“I was just finishing up in here.  And I could use a quick snack before we head out to the Skyport this morning.”  Giselle mentally grimaced since while she had nothing against Pike herself, or what she was, her and the kind hearted gnome’s religion never would likely never get along.  While she and Neria were good, strong companions, they had an….understanding regarding the wood elf’s beliefs and her personal opinion on the matter.  Pike didn’t know this though, and Giselle was trying to be nice, but her patience only went so far when it came to such matters

“So, first time in a temple devoted to redemption, healing, and temperance?”  Pike asked cheerfully, far too cheerfully for Giselle’s liking, both because it was just too damned early for such talk, and because of her discomfort when it came to religion in the first place.

“I'm not the most religious person, let's leave it at that.”  Giselle growled, feeling like she had just kicked a puppy as Pike’s cheery smile fell away.  Blowing out an annoyed, frustrated breath aimed at herself, Giselle looked down towards the gnome as an apologetic gleam filled her brown eyes.  “It’s not you, that I have a problem with Pike.  Let’s just say that I have a good reason not to like the gods and all that they stand for, even the good ones tend to get on my nerves.  Me and Neria have an understanding, established from our years together.  I respect she finds meaning in such things, so long as she doesn’t try to cram it down my throat.  We can be friends as well, but don’t, just don’t.”

“But... oh alright,” Pike reluctantly agreed, getting the hint before nodding solemnly to show that, while she didn’t like the request, she would respect Giselle’s wishes on the matter, “everyone is entitled to their beliefs or lack thereof.”

“Hello, lovely morning isn't it?  Also, no one ask for bacon, Laina is upset enough as it is that the butcher ran out.”  Percy warned them as he took a sip of coffee and nodded towards the fretting cook.

“Thank you for the warning, Percy.”  Neria said before nudging Giselle, once she and Pike had caught up about that moment, towards the gunslinger none too subtly.  “We are quite excited for our journey this day.”

Glaring over her shoulder at the smirking wood elf, Giselle schooled her face to a neutral mask as she shrugged at the inquisitive glance Percy was giving her over his cup of coffee.  Instead of answering him, she moved to pour herself a glass, needing something to keep her busy lest she give her too smug friend a piece of her mind.  That and she just needed the extra shot of caffeine for whatever happened later that day.  A trip across any ocean was never without some kind of excitement after all.  Whether that excitement came from pirates or monsters was yet to be seen, but either way, the ranger wanted to be ready for anything.

After a suspiciously pork free breakfast, the caffeinated and well fed party began their short trek across the city.  It wasn't hard to pick up on the curiosity, passing glares, and outright hostility Giselle’s very presence brought to the group.

“Care to pull that hood over your face, dear?  I don’t think all of Emon knows where we’re going yet, and I’d prefer to keep it that way if you don’t mind.”  Vex muttered none too quietly as she fell in step with the Drow, her own face locked with no small amount of displeasure at all the attention she was drawing their way.

“Yes I would mind, actually.  We’re about to be trapped on an airship together for about a week straight, and I didn’t even want to be dragged into _your_ little chore.  So I’m sorry to tell you, but you’re gonna have to deal with the attention.”  Giselle retorted none too quietly, and made no move to pull her traveling cloak’s hood up to conceal her dark skinned face.  Neria held her tongue, but that didn’t stop the cleric to give her companion an exasperated, resigned look at her outburst.

Vax chose that moment to step in, and put a hand on Giselle’s shoulder.  He almost pulled away just as quickly when she jerked her head to give him a withering glare at the unexpected contact, but he managed to hold his ground.  “I apologize for my little sister, she seems to have forgotten to pack her tact and manners today.”

“Quite right Vax, Vex you never complain about the attention I bring, through little to no fault of my own.”  Tiberius was quick to point out.

“You’re not a walking signpost for the Underdark’s most hated nemesis of the surface.  No offense.”

“ _Some_ taken.”  Giselle muttered in response, but despite her annoyance regarding the whole affair, she kept calm for the most part since she understood all too well where Vex was coming from.  Even if she and Neria didn’t know what it was they were going to Vasselheim for, she knew that Vex and most of her friends were likely hoping to keep a low profile, in their way, for whatever they were transporting across the ocean.  It was the only reason she could see that they’d risk the trip if they didn’t have to, if they were trying to dispose of some dangerous artifact.  It would also explain why she had felt her gaze drawn to Percy and Grog the other day.  As such, she kept her calm easily enough as she responded to the old song and dance being spun anew.  “I do understand your frustrations Vex.  But I am here because the rest of your friends wanted myself and Neria to walk beside you.  I was outvoted, same as you.”

“Why don't you do me a favor, and stop trying to agree with me, dr-”

Before Giselle could say a word, Neria slapped a hand on Vex’s shoulder and spun her around to face her.  Her blue, radiant eyes flashed with divine light as her face twisted and contorted in barely restrained, passionate fury.  “Let me tell you something, just so there is no confusion.  I have stood silent as you have poked and prodded at my dear friend, but I will no longer bite my tongue.”  She ignored the startled gasps that followed from the rest of Vox Machina as they stared on, too stunned by this sudden change in the thus far, mild mannered, almost sickeningly polite wood elf.  “Continue to degrade her and show your willful ignorance at your own peril.”

Instead of addressing the furious cleric in her face, Vex flicked her gaze to her brother who had since instinctively positioned himself directly behind Neria, a hand starting for a dagger on his belt, just in case.  He was ever so thoughtful like that.  “Was that a threat?  I think that sounded like a threat, brother.”

“Seriously, guys we've got shit to do and wenches to- whoa!”  Scanlan cried out as an annoyed Vex shoved him aside, right over the nearby balcony railing and into a fountain.  “Vexyousuck!”

“I got him.”  Grog grunted as he stomped away to the railing, leaned over, and dragged a soaking wet Scanlan out of the water.

“And not in a good way either.”  Scanlan grumpily finished, his arms crossed over his little chest as water dripped off of him in torrents.  Ignoring the scene playing out five feet to her left, Neria chose instead to stare darkly at Vex’s back as they made it to their destination in short order.  An uncomfortable silence fell between her and the half elf ranger that no one, not even Giselle, was in a hurry to shatter lest someone end up jumping the other right there in the middle of the street.

It wasn’t until they reached the skyport itself, that things got….interesting.  “Now if all of us can act like the mature adults that half of us are, on a good day, I say we get under way in short order.”  Percy chastised the lot of them, before walking up the gangplank and hearing an unmistakable cracking sound.  “Oh dear.”  It was all he had a chance to say before the simple board walkway, gave way under his feet.

Several things happened at once.  Neria and Pike gave an alarmed cry while Grog started stomping forward, but a black blur had shot forward the moment she heard the first cracks start underneath the gunslinger’s feet.  Unlike the rest of the group, Giselle had an advantage only Vax could match as she seemed to move at an unnaturally quick speed.  Unlike the rogue, she didn’t have to click her boot heels together for the same effect his Boots of Haste gave him.  Coming to a stop on the edge of the skyport’s ledge, Giselle’s right hand shot forward and grabbed Percy by his outstretched arm, halting his downward plummet just long enough for Vax to reach her side and help her drag him up onto far more solid ground.

“Oh gods!  Oh gods….that was….too damned close.”  Percy panted once he and Giselle and Vax had him on his back on the hard, safe ground between them. “Well, that was embarrass- Kima no!”

For the second time that day, Giselle had all of two seconds to react before a flaming greatsword was swung in her direction.  Her scimitar with the hunting cat’s maw carved into the pommel came out first, touched the greatsword as she expertly diverted its second swing, and extinguished the fire with a just visible puff of smoke emanating from the blade.  The blade itself was still a danger, but her natural agility and her skill kept her from being clipped as she squared off with….a halfling in full armor?  She blinked, having expected someone of Percy’s size, at the very least.

“I got this!”  Kima shouted, her gaze never leaving the Drow elf before her who had since drawn her second blade.  “How dare you try to harm one of my friends Underdark scum!”  Giselle only rolled her eyes and sighed in response to one of the oldest verses in this song and dance she knew so well.  And in the distance, far behind Kima and the soon reignited greatsword she held aloft as if it were made of glass, she could swear she heard amused laughter in the wind.

 **End Notes** :   **_Vergil1989_ ** _:  Lol first we have Mercer hanging around, a simple woodsaw in hand, which as you saw, resulted in Percy almost falling into the drink, and now this!  You can blame Archer for both little surprises in this last section, just so you know lol._

 **_Archer83_ ** _:  Hey, I'm just here to enjoy the ride and ‘play' some DnD lol._

 **_Vergil1989_ ** _:  Well folks, we’ll see you next time.  Enjoy the show as it unfolds, and leave us some feedback already!_


	4. Episode 1.4:  Revels and Revelations

**Episode 1.4:  Revels and Revelations**

“Kima, there's no need to fight... make love not war I say, passionate sweaty love!  She's not even listening to me, is she?”  Scanlan groused as Kima looked to eviscerate their new Drow companion.

“It sure doesn’t look like it.”  Vex deadpanned, and started to go for her bow, but an armored hand stopped her.  Looking over her left shoulder, she saw Neria was the one holding her back.

“What?  This is what you wanted wasn’t it?  A chance to get rid of the big bad Drow?”  She snapped, and gestured harshly to Giselle and Kima as they closed into melee once more, whirling scimitar blades clashing with the paladin’s flaming greatsword, which once more lost its enchantment when it came into contact with the heavily enchanted flame banishing sword anew.  While Neria’s words were directed at Vex, everyone else couldn’t help but listen over the din of steel meeting steel.  “You can’t have it both ways, Vex.  Either lose your ill will towards her, or let this play out to its no doubt bloody conclusion.  But know this, I wouldn’t bet on your Lady Kima.”

While Neria had been making her point known, Percy and Vax were already running towards the death locked pair.  Their melee was fierce and despite the halfing’s size, she moved with a quickness that shouldn’t have been possible in her silver and steel armor with its blue highlights.  It was the only reason Kima still had her head given her far more agile opponent who was a blur of perpetual motion, one blade following another in a dance that left more than a couple members of Vox Machina dizzy.  “Ladies please, there's no need for-" Percy never got to finish before Kima’s elbow inadvertently bashed him in the face.  He reeled back, holding a freshly broken, bloody nose, only to have to duck at the last second when one of Giselle’s blades swiped right over his head as she came spinning in for another swing at the unusually skilled halfling in her almost oversized, shining steel and silver armor with its platinum dragon emblazoned proudly on the front.

Vax spared a moment to burst into laughter before dodging one of Kima’s rage induced errant slashes as Giselle dipped back, barely avoiding the blade.  “You were saying Percival?”  Vax asked, glad that the pair had since moved away, although he grimaced when both Kima and Giselle got dangerously close to the edge of the Skyport, and the long drop that it promised if they misstepped.

“We can’t just let them kill each other Vax!”  Percy shouted, in no mood for the rogue’s jokes as he drew his pistol, right about the same time a dark, smoky aura started to pour off of the gunslinger.  Aiming between the two combatants, Percy pulled the hammer back on the Pepperbox, and squeezed the trigger.  Two things happened at once.  Giselle was blasted back by divine energy as Kima called on her impressive power as a holy Paladin to the Platinum Dragon, Bahamut, and the Drow ranger was forced to stab the sapphire encrusted blade into the ground at her feet to stop her slide across the Skyport.  When the gunshot bounced off the ground between them though, both women came to a stop and stared towards Percy, who at this point, looked downright demonic to the pair of them.  “ _ ENOUGH _ !”  His voice boomed, cutting through the mid morning haze with a menacing, terror inducing, otherworldly tremor in his tone.

If Percy thought his rather intimidating display would stun the pair into halting their battle, he would have been correct.  Only now their anger filled eyes fell on him instead of each other.  “She started it!”  They shouted at the same time, before they stared at each other anew with renewed hostility.

“You shot at me! ... And you’re billowing smoke... what in the Nine Hells, Percy?!”  Kima demanded, yet didn’t for a moment look away from the Drow in front of her.  “You can tell me later, after I’ve taken care of this…. _ abomination _ !”

Having since gotten to her feet again, Giselle leveled her right hand blade towards Lady Kima as her amber eyes narrowed to slits.  “You’re going to have to step up your game a lot more before you’ll be finishing off anything.”

“Okay, that's it, it's a timeout for the both of you.  Now,” Scanlan began once he was sure they could do nothing but listen, having called upon one of his many tricks to restrain them both, “I’m only going to say this once.  Are we listening?”  Scanlan said with a sigh as Bigby’s Hand none too gently crushed the two women together in its massive grip.  If not for some timely wriggling about, their respective blades would have dug into the other’s body as they were pressed almost nose to nose within the giant, purple arcane hand.  “Now kiss and make nice.”  He quickly amended that after receiving their dual death glares that he was certain would have been strong enough to turn him into a pile of ash.  “Alright fine, just promise not to kill each other.”

“Do we have a choice?  But since you have a  _ captive  _ audience, I have to ask what madness has taken you this time that you’d allow yet  _ another  _ denizen from the Underdark to walk beside you?  Was Clarota not example enough of the type of creatures that make their homes in the lightless tunnels beneath our world?”  Kima demanded, and wriggled insistently in Bigby’s arcane infused grasp as she tried to bring her flaming greatsword into a better position.  Either in an attempt to free herself, which was unlikely, or to slit her opponent’s throat, which was at least possible but still not looking like a viable option.  It was impossible to tell what she wanted to do more, only that Kima didn’t stop wriggling about in an effort to do  _ something _ .

“And you wonder why I didn’t want to travel with you in the first place.”  Giselle grumbled, her eyes having since found Neria’s face since it’d been her idea to stay with Vox Machina before turning back to regard Kima herself, not that she could look at much else given their very close, unwanted proximity to each other.  “And just so we’re on the same page, Kima?  I was only  _ born  _ in the Underdark, but I never stayed there.  I was raised on the surface.  Not that anybody bothered to ask.”  The last she directed at Vex, although she couldn’t see how Neria was keeping her rooted to the spot, making her thought regarding her attitude plainly known.

“Whatever comes from there is tainted.  You cannot be trusted just like the rest of your misbegotten kind.”  Kima growled, and once more tried to wriggle herself loose from Scanlan’s magically summoned hand.

“Damn, I can feel the chill in the air from here.  Don't think it's going to be quite that easy Scanlan.”  Grog whispered to his friend, his eyes darting from Lady Kima and the dark elf that had not treated him badly in the slightest.  He, like most of the group, had no idea which side to root for, or to assist in some way or another.  He only knew that something needed to be done before they killed each other.

“And who are you to judge?  You are nothing but a woman blinded by her hatred.  You are no better than those you condemn, sanctimonious whore.” Giselle hissed out between clenched teeth, and tried to move her weapons a little in an attempt to stab the other woman before she could do the same to her.  Her earlier wriggling and repositioning hadn’t gone unnoticed, and Giselle wasn’t about to sit back and let Kima get the upper hand.

Scanlan blinked at the harsh words that had left Giselle’s mouth before he looked up towards Grog.  “Wow, now that was harsh.... would anyone mind getting me some popcorn?”

Percy sighed and shook his head at the pair while he ignored Scanlan entirely, and just before he was about to try and make everyone see reason for the  _ second  _ time that morning, someone else stepped into the middle of the fray.  He wasn’t the only one that took notice when a magically created orb of light shot between the two bound women, blinding them both.  While Giselle’s cry of surprise and no small amount of pain from the burst of arcane light made his heart seize up a bit, Percy looked over his shoulder from where the light had come from and sighed in no small amount of relief when he saw who was there.  “Oh good, the voice of sanity and reason has arrived.  Your friend just tried to gut our new acquaintance over there.”  He explained, as he pinched his nose to lessen the flow of blood.

“I know.”  Kima felt the color drain from her face when she registered the utter disappointment in Lady Allura’s voice.  Unable to see past the light she had blasted between them, she could only listen as the powerful mage walked to the arcane hand, before she and Giselle both were unceremoniously dropped to the hard stone a moment later.  The light was similarly dispelled at the same time, but Kima couldn’t quite bring herself to look up towards her long time friend as she held out a hand to the Drow of all people.  “I apologize for Lady Kima’s attack on your person, Lady Do’Urden.  There is little I can say that can excuse her actions, only that I can assure you it won’t happen again.”

While she took Allura’s hand and allowed her to help her up, not that she needed the assistance, Giselle didn’t let her eyes leave Kima’s prone form.  “You and I both know that isn’t true.  I know her type all too well.”  Giselle replied and looked at Kima with the same distaste she had received from her.  Having said her piece, she sheathed her blades and walked away from the two.  She said nothing as she pushed past Vex, her gaze downcast even when Neria put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“Allura, I-I merely acted to protect-”  Kima began, but a disapproving look cast down from the human wizard silenced the halfling on the spot.

Allura's face softened as she gently cupped the halfling’s chin.  “Shhh, do not dishonor yourself, or our friendship further, with such childish lies.”  Letting her hand fall away, the powerful wizard slowly turned away from the halfling, her gaze on Vox Machina and their new allies.  “What you’re doing, as well as what you’ve done, for the city of Emon won’t be forgotten.  And that you’ve met two of our new allies shortly after your foray into the Underdark isn’t lost on me, yet it seems most of you have already befriended the pair.  I however feel I must apologize to you as well for what has transpired here.”

“Are you kidding?!  I haven't seen a cat fight that good in decades!”  Scanlan boisterously informed the less than amused looking council member.  Clearing his throat when Allura didn’t so much as crack a smile, he schooled his face to a more serious veneer.  “Your assistance was much appreciated, but you did nothing wrong Lady Allura.  As for Lady Kima, I might not agree with her actions, but we do owe her our lives, and I at least can understand why she might be a bit….shortsighted.”

“Yes, quite right Scanlan, especially after the good Lady's recent um... terrible experience.”  Tiberius agreed delicately, and waved his red scaled hand towards Kima, who had since gotten to her feet and collected her greatsword.  But whatever rage that had been driving her not moments ago was gone, replaced by sorrow and shame for having so dishonored herself in front of Allura of all people, a bond that Vox Machina knew well.  As such, Tiberius surprised them by what he said next.  “As such, I am not against her still accompanying us on our journey to Vasselheim.  I will rest easier if we have her powerful skills at hand, on the off chance that blasted….artifact, decides to act up on our way there.”

“I don’t have a problem, so long as she doesn’t try to kill Giselle again.”  Keyleth chimed in, and surprised the ranger more than a little when she soon stood on her right side.  “We might have made the mistake of trusting Clarota, but ... Okay that's probably not the best comparison now that I think about it.”  She trailed off, and looked down as she realized she didn’t have the words to get her point across without sounding like a complete idiot.

Percy gave a nasally sigh, and waved Keyleth’s soft spoken ramblings away.  “What my mild mannered friend here is trying to say, is that Clarota gave us reason to doubt him from the start.  We’ve spent nearly two days with Neria and her overly protective companion, and not so much as a hair’s been raised.  If anything, the only one that hasn’t really seen eye to eye with Giselle is Vex, and that’s just because of the fact they’ve had a difference of opinion regarding the treatment of their respective animal companions.”

“And I’m starting to come around.”  Vex chimed in, the lesson Neria had forced her to sit through having finally gotten past her issue with her dark elven counterpart.  Shaking off her own shame at having poked and prodded the ranger since the day they’d met, even though part of her dislike had been born when Giselle had threatened Vax, sort of, Vex nodded to her brother before turning her full attention to Kima and Allura.  “I’m of the same mind as the rest of the group, so long as you can play nice, I’m all for having you along Kima.  We probably wouldn’t be here if not for your assistance, although you wouldn’t be here either if we hadn’t gotten you out of that dungeon, or after you got turned to stone for that matter.”

Vax lightly slapped the Paladin on the shoulder, grimacing slightly when she flinched back from his touch.  “So why don't you let us worry about protecting you for a change, just for a little while.”  His words got a ghost of a smile from Kima before he started for the ship, and the gilded container that had been brought between two more warriors from the temple in Vasselheim.  The fact everyone onboard the airship had stopped to watch the confrontation play itself out, Vax chose to ignore as he beckoned Grog forward with his Bag of Holding, and the artifact they were hoping to safely dispose of at last.  “The sooner we get rid of this thing, the easier I’ll sleep.”  He muttered none too quietly as Grog gingerly began to pull the horn from the Bag at his side.

“Wait, stop.”  Kima said and ran to Grog’s side on the deck of the ship, and put a restraining hand on his arm before he could begin to extract it.  “At least allow either I or Pike to handle this dangerous artifact.  We are better equipped should it decide to do anything….untowards.”

Vax held out a hand, blocking Kima’s path. “I have a much better idea, how about no one touches the horn of pure death incarnate?  Oh Tiberius, if you would be so kind?”

“Hmm?  Oh right.”  Tiberius soon had a telekinetic grip on the evil, pulsating curved, obsidian colored horn as he ever so slowly began to remove it from the Bag.  With his right hand, wreathed in arcane light, he slowly levitated the cursed object into the center of the ornate, gilded container, and let go of his spell once he was sure it wasn’t about to fall out.  The guards on either side of the container soon lifted a heavy, metallic lid adorned with the Platinum Dragon’s image, and a gold and platinum colored light began to emanate from the box as the lid was fixed into place before the light died once it was securely in place.  The runes that had also lit up flashed once the lid was in place before they too dulled and became silent moments later.

All of them breathed a lot easier once the horn was sealed, and Allura soon nodded her approval of this part at least handled well.  She wasn’t quite done with Vox Machina though as she waited for the rest of the group to walk past, before putting a gentle, but firm, hand on Neria’s upper, armor covered arm.  The action got Giselle’s attention, but she trusted Allura far more than her friend, so other than a quick glance towards the human wizard, she moved on since she had a feeling she knew what this was about.

Neria meanwhile, having come to the same conclusion, watched as Allura let out a heavy, weary sigh before looking towards Kima’s back.  “I am sure I don’t have to tell you about the horrors she has endured before Vox Machina were able to save her.  I know what you’re capable of, and I would ask for your assistance in trying to help her.  I would be happy to aid Kima myself, but as you can most likely tell, she is a bit too in awe of me to allow... certain intimacies.”

“I’ll do what I can, if she allows it, but it is not often I am asked to help another in this fashion.  Most times, it is the seeker themselves who find me for what I can do for them in some small but meaningful way.  You’re a good friend to be this bold however, dare I say blunt.”  Despite her words, Neria offered Allura a little nod to show she was willing to at the very least give the request some serious thought.

Before she could speak further, Allura produced a small but heavy coin pouch and held it towards the wood elven cleric.  “I would be grateful beyond words if you can do even a little to help Kima in your….unique fashion, but I understand your services are not free.  Please, accept this small token of my appreciation.  However, I will understand if you are unable to help her, my fiery little friend has to be the most stubborn soul I've yet to meet in this world.”

“I find your lack of faith in your friend's desire to come to the aid of a beautiful woman... very unlikely.”  Neria replied with a hint of a smile pulling at her face before she turned solemn, as she folded her hands gently over the coin purse, and Allura’s fingers at the same time.  “I take my profession quite seriously, so believe me when I say I’ll do my best to assist her, Lady Allura.  But….if she persists in trying to hurt my friend, I cannot promise her continued wellbeing, such as it is.”  While it ran contradictory to what she had just promised to do for Allura in regards to Kima, Neria couldn’t keep quiet about the paladin trying to harm Giselle either.  While her loyalty and faith went to her gods first and foremost, her loyalty and love for her long time friend came a very close second.

“I understand that as well.”  Allura replied softly before she walked over to Kima and casually bent closer to whisper to her.  Kima blushed at whatever was said to her but hugged Allura tightly in her small arms, which the wizard returned as best she could despite their rather obvious height difference.  Once they pulled apart, Allura started back to the city proper, leaving Kima to stand by the airship as it was made ready to fly.

“So, when do we set sail?”  Neria asked the group at large as she boarded the vessel right ahead of Lady Kima, having since made the coin purse she had received from Allura disappear into a handy bag on her hip.  As for the airship that they were boarding, it was unlike any ship she’d seen before, unlike any ship either of them had seen before now that she thought about it.  For one, most ships they were familiar with actually sailed across water, and while the skyship  _ had  _ sails, there were no oars to propel it along.  There were however three crystal constructs, two on each side of the wooden and metallic vessel near the back, as well as one at its front, that emanated arcane power, which somehow allowed the vessel to fly even though it was still within its tower top dock, which was partially carved into the side of the mountains that overlooked Emon itself.  While it was far beyond Neria’s simple understanding of such a fusion of magic and science, but it was still a marvel to the humble cleric.

“it's not that type of ship, Neria.”  Giselle replied as she leaned against the wooden railing, besides the new gangplank that had been slapped down after the old one had snapped under Percy’s weight.  They ignored the hustle of supplies being loaded and adjustments being made to the ship itself, too caught up in the aftermath of Kima’s outburst against her.  Despite that, she sighed and looked towards the wood elf at her side with a tired but grateful look.  “I caught a bit of what you said to Vex.  Thanks for that, but you didn’t have to accept Allura’s request.  Kinda wish you hadn’t if you want my honest opinion.”  Giselle’s frown softened though and she leaned into her friend’s side before she could respond.  “I know, you’re just doing what your gods and conscience ask of you, and I wouldn’t have you go against what you are, I’m just being temperamental.”

Neria wrapped her arm around the ranger’s waist and rested her cheek against the top of Giselle’s head, and took a moment to inhale the earthy, comforting scent that was hers alone.  “I know, and you have every right considering how Kima reacted, but as much as I want to be angry with her myself, I cannot.  She has endured great hardships according to Lady Allura, and from what I overheard from the others, she has every reason to hate the Underdark and any that have come from there.  But that does not excuse her actions either.”

“No, but I can at least understand them.”  Giselle whispered before another, heavy sigh escaped her.  “And she  _ is  _ right, most things that come from the Underdark aren’t to be trusted.”

“Most things, but not you.”  Neria stated firmly, and squeezed the dark elf a little tighter against her side.

Vex watched all of this from afar with her brother at her side and Trinket once more curled up into a ball behind them both.  Having gotten the massive bear onto the ship via a series of ropes and pulleys hadn’t been the easiest endeavor, but with the good captain’s men, it went smoothly enough.  That was a distant thought now however as the half elven ranger watched and heard most of what was said between the two.  “Am I really so difficult to talk to, Vax?”  She asked after a pregnant pause had settled over them both.  “I know I can be hard headed and stubborn, but I never would have considered myself prejudiced, save when it came to actual full blooded elves, and that’s only because our father was such an asshole.”

“You have been kind of snippy with her sis, even after she apologized for that incident in Gilmore’s.  Honestly though, I don’t think I was ever in any danger.  I mean have you seen her figure?  Woman has excellent reflexes,  _ nearly  _ as good as mine.”  Vax said, which earned an amused eyeroll from his sister.  He shrugged but grinned as he leaned his back against the railing they were standing by, which just happened to be right across from where Neria and Giselle were standing on the other side of the airship.

“Eww brother, I didn't know you were that kinky. And how exactly does that elf  _ not _ know we can hear nearly every word she's saying from this distance.”

Ignoring his sister’s remark, the rogue kept his face expressionless, his eyes never wavering from the pair across the way.  “Probably because she’s too caught up in the moment after facing off against Kima.”  Vax replied and crossed his arms over his lightly armored chest.  “I might get why the paladin’s a mess, but you didn’t see the look on Giselle’s face from where I was standing.  I was right there as they crossed blades, and it looked to me like she wanted to be anywhere else but there, facing yet more of the same shit she’s no doubt endured since day one.”

“You do know we can hear you right?”  Giselle yelled across the deck, giving Vex a glare even as it softened into a confused frown when her brown eyes flicked to Vax almost as quickly.

Vax immediately blushed and spun around to face away from those penetrative brown eyes.  “Oh gods, she thinks I'm interested.  You’re a woman who's good at killing, how do I let her down easy, sister?”

Vex chuckled, patted her brother on the back, and promptly did something Vax made a habit of.  She walked away from him with a cheery wave over her shoulder.  He gaped at the turn around, and couldn’t help but wonder if this was what it felt like when he did the same thing before he felt someone standing at his side.  Reluctantly looking to his right, he saw Giselle, a little smile tugging at her lips, and about clicked his boot heels together to make an uncannily fast exit.  He didn’t get a chance as a dark skinned hand fell on his shoulder.  “Don’t.”  That single word, while spoken softly, had Vax rooted to the spot. “I'd almost forgotten what a compliment sounds like, and don't worry, I have no plans of tying you to a bed and ravishing you to death.” 

Turning her gaze to the slightly cloudy sky before them as the crew of the vessel began final preparations for the trip, Vax couldn’t help but follow her gaze towards the brightening horizon as the sun made its slow way to early afternoon.  “Well, I don’t know whether to be happy about that or offended.”  He teased before nodding his head ever so slightly.  “If you overheard any of our own conversation, you’d know that we’ve had to endure our own share of cold disdain from our father.  While not the same thing, we understand to an extent what it’s like to not be welcome by those around you.  He didn’t outright hate us, but he didn’t make us feel loved either, and those under his power shared the sentiment, given his high standing in elven circles.”

Vax knew he had said the wrong thing when Giselle’s face hardened, and her almond eyes started to glow ever so slightly as anger started to brim up once more.  “I know the feeling, my father wasn't the most endearing parent either, but please don't insult me by comparing your life to mine.  You and your arrogant sister have yet to experience even a fraction of the hatred, disgust and fear I’ve endured.”  It was then that Giselle looked down to his boots, before raising an eyebrow at him.  “ _ Now _ you can make a hasty getaway if you like.”  When all he did was blink in confusion, Giselle quickly spun on her own heel and walked off instead, leaving him to stare at her back.

Vax didn’t apologize since it wouldn’t have been heeded, and watched as the hard, angry edge to Giselle’s face gave way to old, painful memories that he only got a glimpse of, but it was enough to clue him in that he had made a mistake in trying to foolishly compare himself to her in some meaningful way that just didn’t exist.  As such, he watched her walk away, and sighed heavily as he hung his head.  “Way to go Vax, your charm knows no bounds.”

The rest of that morning was spent inside the skyship’s lower decks, where the wind was far quieter and conversations weren’t lost to the noise of flight that soon began after Vax’s rather ill phrased comment towards the Drow ranger.  The hum of the arcane powered crystals, which gave the ship its ability to fly in the first place, was also a pleasant background hum, if it was heard at all, inside the vessel that was rather comfortable for being a large transport ship for passengers and cargo alike.

But Vax hardly noticed as he made his way down to the lower decks sometime later, only to see Scanlan waiting for him near the stairwell that led down to the crew quarters, a smug, knowing little grin on his face.  “I hear you had quite the lover’s quarrel.  Good for you Vax, getting rid of stress the old fashioned way instead of brooding in shadowy corner somewhere, like usual.”

“Fuck off.”  Vax growled out, only to have Scanlan bar his path.  When he stepped to the side to try and get around him, Scanlan matched the movement perfectly despite his admittedly shorter stature.  “I’m not in the mood, bard.”

“Just hear me out for a second.”  Scanlan protested, only to have to flail his hands about when the half elf rogue pushed him aside.  He kept his balance, barely, and followed after Vax as he made for his quarters.  With a surprising burst of speed, the little gnome got in front of the locked door, and once more stood in front of Vax.  “You screwed up with Giselle, I get it.  You tried to be a friend, and now you don’t know how to make it up to her.  Trust me, I've been there hund- dozens of times.  The trick is to let her cool off for a bit, and then surprise her with something very personal, a unique gift.  And hopefully she forgives you.  What that gift is though I'm afraid you’ll have to figure out on your own.”  Having said his piece, Scanlan patted Vax on the side, humming a cheerful tune as he started towards his room across the hall, which Vax was willing to bet was right next to Pike’s.

While the bard had given him good advice, Vax wasn’t about to let him go with the last word.  “Hey Scanlan, you're a condescending little shit, but you can be surprisingly deep sometimes.  Thanks for the advice.”

“I have my moments.”  Scanlan replied, and bowed deeply at the waist before disappearing into his room with a jaunty wave and a smile thrown towards one of the few people he considered a true friend.

While Vax pondered how best to make amends for his foolish if heartfelt attempt to bond with the dark elven ranger, Pike, Keyleth, and Neria were having a pleasant conversation together in the druid’s assigned cabin on the skyship.  Keyleth had already used her druidic magic to alter the wood of the bed so that it sprung to life with green leaves and more than a few brightly colored flowers, giving her room a pleasant, woodsy smell that was uniquely hers.

“Aaaaaahchoo!  Sorry Keyleth, the flowers really are very pretty.”  Pike said with a sniffle as she wiped her nose on her gauntlet _. _

Neria couldn’t help but smile at the two before turning her gaze to the flower adorned bed.  “I think it’s a rather revealing expression of yourself, Keyleth.  Sweet, beautiful, yet stronger than appearances suggest.”  And mildly poisonous judging by Pike’s rather severe reaction.  This last thought Neria was polite enough to keep to herself however.  Besides, the worst thing the gnome had to worry about was the occasional sneeze escaping her, from what the elf could tell at least, so there was no point in worrying Keyleth unnecessarily.  To her trained eyes, despite having only talked to the druid a handful of times, she had enough on her shoulders already.

Keyleth blushed and bowed her head a little at the praise, but quickly pushed the thoughts that Neria’s comment had started to stir up to the side.  “So, I know you've mentioned how you met Giselle, but I was wondering if you'd share more of your travels together.”

Neria had expected as much, and sat down in one of the few chairs in the simple cabin that were available as Pike and Keyleth got comfortable on the bed.  Once they were situated, only then did the elven cleric nod and stroke the bottom of her chin for a moment.  “I’ll share what I can, but some parts of my tale is not mine alone, and I would request that you do not ask me to betray my dear friend’s trust in such regards.”  Neria demanded gently, and wasn’t all that surprised when the pretty, red haired druid immediately became flustered while Pike remained calm but nodded in agreement to the request.

“Oh, of course not!”  Keyleth replied with a rapid shake of her head.  It was all the druid could do not to ask the beautiful, enigmatic wood elf’s forgiveness.  And she was fairly certain she hadn't even done anything wrong.  The only thing that kept her even remotely still and calm was Pike’s silent support as she patted the girl on her back in a reassuring manner.  “Whatever you're comfortable with I mean, would be.... great.”

She needn’t have worried in any event, because Neria smiled warmly towards Keyleth and shook her head, her amber bound locks bouncing a little in the tight bun on the back of her head.  “It is fine, Lady Keyleth.  You are not in the wrong here.  I was simply letting you know my terms on such matters.”  Neria explained, her warm smile never wavering in the slightest.  Keyleth’s awkwardness and shy demeanor was rather endearing to the very….experienced, cleric.  It was a welcome change, talking with someone that was so honest and perhaps even naive, it meant she didn’t have to peel away layers of defenses to get to the woman underneath.

As such, Keyleth’s slight stuttering response as she tried to get her thoughts in order had Neria’s warm smile widening a little.  “Good, right then ...  um, maybe I should go first?  I'm actually on a very ... enlightening quest to travel to each of the four Ashari tribes, oh I'm a member of the Wind tribe by the way.”

“So you are on a journey of self discovery.  A noble endeavor, and one I wish you success upon.”  Neria replied, and immediately braced herself for Keyleth’s next comment.  As for the weight on Keyleth’s shoulders, Neria had the distinct impression some of that was related to the journey itself, and what it meant to her.  From the little glimmer of recognition and the sympathy that followed on Pike’s face she caught out of the corner of her eye, Neria was sure she wasn’t wrong in her thinking.

Her suspicions were on the mark, as she was about to find out.  “Really?  That's so nice of you to say.  But I'm honestly not sure how long it'll take me or if I'll even be able to finish my Aramente.  Oh sorry that's-”

“Let me guess, the name of your quest to gain knowledge about yourself, and your natural gifts.  Other cultures have similar quests, pilgrimages seekings, and pathfinding, to name a few.  You are not the first I have come across on such a journey.”  Neria explained, and folded her hands neatly in her lap while crossing her right leg over her left knee.  Despite the armor still covering her from the neck down, she chuckled mentally when Keyleth’s beautiful eyes followed the movement before she caught herself, her cheeks turning bright red once more.  Pike remained perfectly passive, but she too couldn’t help but follow the movement, albeit to a far lesser extent.  Neria had grown used to such things a long time ago, so it was no skin off her nose.  Besides, a small part of her still enjoyed the attention her training often afforded her in such situations.

“Keyleth, don't the Fire Ashari live near Vassalhiem?”  Pike helpfully pointed out, attempting to distract her friend from the enticing elven woman's piercing blue gaze.  “Or so I've heard.”

Keyleth immediately jerked her head up at the reminder, her eyes brightening at the same time.  “Oh right, yes!  They do, I'll be able to introduced you to them!  If you'd like to join me- _ us _ in traveling there that is.”  She corrected herself midstream, and once again blushed brightly at the slip of the tongue on her part.

Neria pretended not to have heard it, no doubt to Keyleth’s immense relief and Pike’s hidden appreciation for her friend’s sake.  “I would be honored to accompany you, if I can convince Giselle to join you and your friends for an extended amount of time of course.”

“Oh, I don't think easily convincing people of anything is one of your shortcomings.”  Pike said with a knowing smile, half in jest and half in warning as her eyes flicked between Neria and her dazed looking friend.

Neria got the message well enough and held up a hand for a moment before casually running her fingers against the side of her cheek, as if she had meant to simply pull some of her stray amber locks back behind her ear.  “You needn’t worry, I only use my powers of persuasion for noble, goodly causes.  It would go against who I am if I started to turn what I am towards selfish endeavors.  Besides,”  It was here that Neria’s voice dropped to a sad, soft whisper, “I would dishonor my vow to my long buried mentor and savior if I did such a thing.  I owe him everything for all that I am now, and everything I do is to repay that debt I hinted at once before.”

When Keyleth none too gently nudged Pike in the side with one of her bony elbows, Neria had to take a moment to reassess her earlier observations about the mild mannered druid with what she said next.  “Aww, Pike you made her sad.  I apologize for her, she's almost as overprotective as your friend is.  Speaking of which, um... I couldn't help noticing how close the two of you are.”

Neria brightened almost as quickly as Keyleth had a little bit ago about the same time her smile returned.  “We are not close in a romantic sense, before you begin to entertain such thoughts, although….I would not be against such a thing if it ever came to pass.  We have simply shared the road for such a long time together, that we know each other only as true friends can.”

“Really?  Have you ever thought of having romantic feelings for someone less.... rough around the edges?”

“Keyleth.”  Pike chastised her gently, but Neria only chuckled and waved off the gnome’s attempt to apologize for her friend before she could even begin to form the words.

“It is fine, truly.”  Neria assured the pair, before her blue eyes became half lidded and she leaned back in her chair, taking a moment to think on how best to answer the druid’s question.  When she did finally speak, even Pike found it hard not to lean forward in intense curiosity.  “Our….friendship is hard to define in words, let alone a single sitting, especially since we met under such strenuous circumstances.  But let me say that despite the fact Giselle was brought to me after a dragon hunt gone awry, and while it was the first time I had seen a Drow up close, I did not see the color of her skin as so many do.  I only saw someone in need of healing, of someone to take her pain away, both physical, and otherwise.  I had seen monsters before, and they did not look like her.”  While her turn of phrase left the pair confused, Neria didn’t let them dwell on it for long as she crossed her legs again in an effort to get comfortable even as memories began to flicker behind her blue eyes.  “No...she was far more vulnerable than monstrous to my eyes.  Dark skin or not, you’d be surprised what you can learn from someone that is just grateful to still be breathing, let alone on the mend.”

“That is not so unusual actually.”  Pike chimed in.  Neria nodded, having gotten the hint given their shared profession and paths in life, even though they shared the same calling while taking different approaches, they achieved the same results, despite differing beliefs.  The heart of what they were however, were similar enough that it didn’t matter.

“My apologies, noble cleric.  I nearly forgot that you have likely seen your share of life threatening injuries in your time, if not those that have actually crossed that threshold.”  It was Pike’s turn to blush slightly in response to Neria’s heartfelt praise, but she handled it far better than Keyleth would have.

“I have indeed seen my share.  I brought Grog back from the brink of death, after his herd left him beaten bloody when he refused to kill an innocent gnome that they had stumbled upon.  A gnome that happened to be my uncle, Wilhelm.  We became fast friends afterwards, and we’ve been traveling together ever since, much like you and Giselle you might say.”

“A fated meeting if I had ever heard of one.  It is little wonder you and he seem so close.”  Neria replied, more than a little awestruck by the tale Pike had shared with her.

The gnome blushed a little brighter and ran her fingers through her platinum locks.  “It helps that he returned the favor a few years later.  A glabrezu crushed me between its claws, and if not for our close proximity to a temple of Sarenrae and his help in a revival ritual to bring me back to life, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

“I thought it was Scanlan’s kiss th-”  Keyleth never got a chance to finish as Pike’s cheeks flushed beet red, and the half elf found an armored hand covering her mouth.  “ _ Right _ , sorry.”  The druid said once Pike removed her gauntlet covered hand away from her mouth.

“Not to pry, but you only truly have two options when it comes to your bardic paramour.”  Neria began gently once it looked like Pike wasn’t about to combust on the spot.  “Either let him down as gently as possible, or tell him how you feel.  I know it’s not my place, but it’s kinda hard not to notice how he feels about you.”

“No, you’re fine, but it’s….complicated.”  Pike stated and couldn’t help but wring her hands a little as she struggled to find the words to even begin to unravel that particular Gordian Knot that was her rather strange relationship with the gnome in question.  “Scanlan’s sweet, and charming, and despite his….habits, he truly is a good person at heart.  But there’s….someone else in my life that I haven’t seen in years, but I still kinda have feelings for them,” Neria noted how she didn’t specify the gender of said love from her past, but didn’t interrupt her as Pike continued to ramble, “but then there’s Scanlan, who’s here right now just a room away.  I don’t know.  I'm afraid to make a choice because it might be the wrong one.”  Taking a breath, Pike let out a huff and flopped backwards on Keyleth’s bed.  “It’s all so confusing to even think about.”

Keyleth let out a sigh and shook her head, having heard it all before, but it still had the druid looking down at her long time friend with more than a little sympathy for her plight, even if the majority of it went over her head.  “I’m not even going to try and untangle that mess because it’s well beyond my...humble understanding.”

“Fortunately for you both, I’m not so limited in my experience.”  Neria replied and made it a point to scoot her chair closer to the bed just as Pike sat upright once more.  “This is not something that can be forced, or hurried or done out of desperation.  You’ll know when it’s the right time to make that choice.  Not to sound cliche, but you just need to have faith.”  Pike couldn’t help but chuckle at the little jest, even though it was still good advice which she took to heart.

“I’ll do my best.”  She assured her elven counterpart before a thought occurred to Pike, and she turned to Keyleth next.  “And what about my friend here?  You know of her journey to truly discover herself, but she failed to mention that she’s supposed to be the eventual successor to lead her tribe, and right now that responsibility belongs to her father if I remember correctly.”

“Yeah….don’t remind me.”  Keyleth muttered despondently under her breath.

Neria bowed her head with exaggerated deference, a smirk pulling at the corners of her mouth.  “Forgive me, I didn't realize I was in the presence of royalty.”

“If you could never do that again, that would be great.”  Keyleth muttered, and shifted about uncomfortably on the bed as she did.

“Of course.  Your Majesty.”  Neria quickly added, unable to stop herself.  Pike’s good natured laugh only added to Keyleth’s disgruntled grumblings, but when Neria leaned forward and put a comforting hand on her knee, the druid immediately fell silent.  “As you wish, truly.  But it would be something to get used to if this is indeed your path, Keyleth.”

“It wouldn’t be so bad if I felt worthy of the honor in the first place.”  Keyleth managed to say once Neria had pulled her warm, if metal covered, hand away from her leg.  She couldn’t help but wonder, briefly, what that hand might have felt like without the dull but polished gray gauntlet in the way, but Keyleth pushed such thoughts to the side as quickly as she could, lest her cheeks turn as bright as her hair, again.

As much as Neria wanted to press for more information, she knew when she had pushed hard enough, and slowly stood to her feet.  “Well, I'm afraid I have another matter to attend to.”  Not to mention calming Giselle’s mangled nerves.  Neria couldn't remember that last time her loyal ranger companion had allowed herself to be coerced into staying around so many people.  But she kept such thoughts to herself, and schooled her face with relative ease to mask her concern for her companion as she started for the door, but not without leaving Keyleth with something to ponder as well.  “But know that all who are called to lead doubt their ability to do so.  At least the greatest of them do anyway.  Given time and experience, and a gentle, but honest, guiding hand from time to time, I believe you will be a great leader to your people, Lady Keyleth.”

“Thank you for not bowing this time, and for your wisdom.”  Keyleth replied softly, before she and Pike watched Neria give them one last, warm smile before she gently shut the door behind her with a soft ‘click’.

Neria didn’t react when she saw Lady Kima, her scarred, somewhat dirt stained face, turned down towards the floor.  She didn’t respond even when the halfling gently jerked her head towards another room, further down the hall, and closer to the cursed artifact within its sealed container no doubt, given her role in keeping it contained alongside the guards that had come to Emon to see it safely to Vasselheim.  Taking the silent invitation for what it was, Neria followed the halfling paladin to her quarters on the ship.  Only after the door was shut behind them did Neria ask, “How much did you overhear?”

Kima blanched, but nodded as a heavy, resigned sigh escaped her.  “I won’t ask how you know I was eavesdropping, but I heard more than enough to further be ashamed of how I introduced myself to you and your….companion.”  She finished with a grimace, as if she had swallowed a rather bitter tasting medicine when she made her remark about Neria’s friend.

Something that Neria chose to not comment on, instead addressing Kima’s unspoken question lest she say something she’d regret later.  “You tend to make a great deal of noise in that armor, even when you're obviously trying to be discreet.”  

“Figured as much.  Aren't you.... I was expecting this to go differently.”

“Would it make you feel more at ease if I punched you in the face first?”  To her credit, Kima managed a weak laugh even if they both knew that the cleric wasn’t entirely joking on the matter.

But given the fact that she had tried to kill the wood elf’s traveling companion, the paladin didn’t blame her for the note of veiled hostility in her voice.  “Oddly enough, yeah it probably would.”

“Sorry, but I cannot help you in that case, I'm more interested in the mending of wounds than delivering them.”

“And that’s what Lur- errr, I mean Lady Allura, paid you for isn’t it?  She asked you to help me?”  When Neria neither denied or confirmed her suspicions, Kima crossed her arms over her chest, revealing the compact musculature that was hers from a lifetime of training and combat experience, and lifting a weapon many times her small size.  “I’m no fool, despite my actions earlier today.  I saw how Allura stopped you outside the airship this morning.  Well, I'm not afraid of anything, do whatever it is that you... do.  I….do appreciate her thoughtfulness, but I’m fine.”

“I had no intention of doing anything you did not wish to happen in the first place.”  Neria assured her, and gestured her hand towards the simple table and the bed in its corner.  It was more than enough for Kima as she walked over to the table and sat down.  Deciding to take the bed this time, Neria also sat down, never taking her eyes off the halfling as she did.  “And despite what you say, I know better.  Not all wounds need to be on the surface to be felt.  I've learned from much….personal experience that it is just as crucial to heal the soul as well.”

“Well my soul is just fine thank you.  Are we done?”  Kima asked, far more curtly than she had originally meant, but that didn’t change the fact she was beginning to feel trapped.  Something she didn’t enjoy feeling in the slightest, even before her literal captivity at the hands of the duergar and their twisted allies.

“We can be, for now.”  Neria replied, just as curtly, before swallowing the angry outburst that threatened to bubble up from her.  Instead, she grasped the crescent moon pendant around her neck, said something that sounded elvish under her breath, and breathed out through her nose before she was able to address Kima anew.  “I would ask one thing of you however.”

“And what would that be?”  Kima asked, somewhat calmer than before.

Neria knew she was making a dangerous gamble with what she planned to say next, but if it worked, it would help not only Kima, but her friend as well.  “Despite how you obviously feel about her, my friend could use a decent sparring partner.  And you’re probably the only person on this ship who she might not kill by accident.  You’re far better skilled than most swordsmen I’ve ever encountered, and that is not a compliment I give lightly.”

Neria expected the outburst that followed, and would have been far more concerned if Kima didn’t let it fly past her open mouth.  “Are you seriously-

As such, Neria’s hardening visage didn’t change in the slightest as she met the paladin’s disbelieving glare head on.  “Do I look like I'm jesting, halfling?”  When all she got in return was silence, Neria allowed her face to soften somewhat, but the steel never left her blue eyes as she stared down at Kima.  “When it comes to Giselle, I never jest.  We have shared too many miles together, have endured too many hardships together, for me to ever joke about such a thing.  So when I say that if you ever try to purposely harm her again, Giselle will be the least of your concerns.  I hope you take me at my word.”  She didn’t wait for Kima’s response, because Neria felt the overpowering urge to leave that room as quickly as her dignity allowed.  To stay was to invite disaster that she could ill afford given the cramped quarters, let alone the toll it’d take on her very soul if she struck out against the paladin.  So she left Kima’s chambers, the door shutting none too gently behind her, and immediately made her way to the room she was sharing with Giselle.

The ranger, when she heard the hurried clanking of Neria’s armor, took one look at the wood elf’s face when she burst into their room, and forgot her own worries and frustrations as she all but flew from the simple table where she had placed an old, leather journal, a well used feather quill, and a half empty bottle of ink.  The single lantern light above their heads did more to hide the wood elf’s face than it did to illuminate it, but to the Drow’s night adapted eyes, it was more than enough as that steely visage Neria wore so well began to crumble right before her gaze.

Neria all but collapsed into Giselle’s arms, and didn’t offer the least bit of resistance as she was gently guided to the bed before she was sat down. Taking several long seconds to regain some semblance of her broken calm and composure, Neria was able to tell of what she had set into motion.  Whether Giselle wanted any part in it or not however was another matter entirely, but one Neria couldn’t think about at that moment.  “You’re going to spar with Kima tomorrow, I only ask that you don't kill her.  A few shallow cuts however might even improve her mood.”

“I’ll keep it in mind.”  Giselle replied, and once more their roles changed as the ranger acted as the immovable center in their partnership.  She wasn’t about to argue the point, not when Neria was so close to losing her composure completely for the second time in as many days.  Instead, she simply ran her free hand through the woman’s bindings holding her bun together, and once more had her lustrous, amber locks falling over her shoulders.  “Who heals the healer when her job is done?”  Giselle asked, to which Neria managed a weak, heartfelt, whisper soft laugh even as tears welled up in her blue eyes.

“Why her irascible ranger companion of course…”  The tremble that passed through the wood elf as her tears finally started to roll down her cheeks had Giselle wanting to march to Kima’s room then and there, but she bit back the impulse, choosing to simply hold her friend all the tighter.  She needed to let her vent, to let her decompress, because it was something she rarely ever did.  “I couldn’t do it Giselle.  I couldn’t stay in that room a moment longer, not without….not without wanting to add to her scars.  She tried to hurt you and it was all I could do to stay civil, despite Lady Allura’s request to help that little halfwit.”

“You’re stronger than I am, I would have gutted her most likely.”  Giselle muttered as she continued to fight the urge to do just that.  But she wouldn't second guess Neria’s decision, nor would she sabotage her promise to do all that she could to keep her word to another, even if it wasn’t common for someone to ask as Allura had in regards to another’s well being.  Instead, she gently wiped away the wood elf’s tears with her free hand, while her other remained firmly around the middle of her waist. “Can our annoying new allies help me teach her a lesson?  I promise no deaths, no  _ permanent _ injury ... most likely.”  She smiled a little when Neria clucked her tongue in disapproval, even as Giselle saw her fight the small smile that pulled at her lips at the same time.

Neria, feeling a little better now, was able to look up towards Giselle’s face and nod.  “Y-yeah, yes, I think they might be a good way to go.  They know her, they could very well help in this.  I just know I can’t be near her right now.”

“No one’s asking you to.”  Giselle softly replied, and placed a feather light, chaste, kiss on the side of her forehead.  “You’ve done more than enough for one day.”


	5. Episode 1.5:  Rudely Interrupted Voyage

**Episode 1.5:  Rudely Interrupted Voyage**

“Scanlan.  Scanlan….  Scanlan?!”  Percy shouted, and was rewarded when the gnome in question jumped and sat bolt upright in his bed.  A bed Percy saw, had at least two other occupants in the form of a couple of the good captain’s crew.  It wasn’t such an unusual sight though, given the bard’s….habits, but Percy couldn’t help but shake his head in annoyance as Scanlan started to come around.

Shooting the gunslinger a tired, frustrated glare at being woken up, Scanlan waved his hand at the man when he didn’t immediately respond.  “What?!  Can't a badly hungover, and well hung gnome, get some peace and quiet?!  Also shhh, you'll wake up my lovely guests.”

“Did you have to drug these lovely salty deckhands or did your mastery of seduction avail you yet again?”  Percy asked, and looked down when his foot brushed up against a piece of fabric that felt a little too soft to be the gnome’s discarded clothing.  He didn’t look down either, more to protect his own dignity than any fear of seeing something a man of his noble bearing shouldn’t, save for special occasions of course.

“ ... Both, now let me sleep the rest of this glorious night off.”  Scanlan grumbled and flopped back down onto his side, dragging the heavy blankets over his head as he did.

Percy wasn’t having any of that though, and none too gently yanked the covers away from both the gnome and his two ‘friends’.  “Oh I'm afraid that won't be happening.  Come on then, there's a good lecherous little liar.”  Throwing a fresh pair of pants at the bard, Percy started for the door, having impeded on his friend’s privacy long enough.  But before he left, he shared one last bit of news with the man.  “Oh, and just so you know?  You might want to eat heartily this morning.  We’re to have a bit of a sparring match against Lady Kima.  I’ll fill you in once you’re halfway decent.”  Percy stopped at the edge of the hallway, and tossed Scanlan a grin over his shoulder.  “And investing in some medicinal creams might not be a bad idea.  Seems there's a bad outbreak of crabs aboard.”  The almost horrified look on Scanlan’s face that Percy saw before the door shut between them had made the gunslinger’s morning very worthwhile.  It would at the very least give the perpetually horny bastard second thoughts about seducing any woman that gave him so much as a momentary glance.

“Morning Percy, nicely done by the way.”  Vax said with a smile as he slapped the gunslinger on the shoulder as he strolled past.  Percy shot the rogue a smirk as he fell in next to Vax on his way up to the mess hall for that morning’s meal.  “You got the message too then?”

“I did, our dark elven friend paid me a visit at the crack of bloody dawn.”  Percy retorted, but despite his momentary bad mood at being woken up himself, the tinkerer couldn’t help but nod his approval at what he’d been told regarding what her friend had devised.  “I do like the plan her friend came up with though.  Neria’s clever, in her way, and she’s hardly been around Kima like we hav-”

With a vicious suddenness that took Percy completely off his guard, Vax slammed the man's back against the nearby bulkhead.  “Now I need you to listen very carefully to what I have to say Percy.  What. The. Fuck. Happened to you yesterday?!  And please don't lie, I hate the idea of having to hurt a close friend.”  Percy blinked, utterly confused by what Vax was talking about, and despite his understandable concern, the rogue saw the surprise and shock on his friend’s face.  “You don’t know either?”  He asked after a moment of tense silence had fallen between them.  That revelation somehow scared Vax far more.

“No I don’t.  I just acted, tried to get them to stop before they killed each other, but I have no idea what you’re talking about, Vax.”  Jerking free of the rogue’s grip on the front of his vestments, Percy straightened his clothes out with a hard tug when he saw they’d been ruffled.

A long, frustrated exhalation of breath escaped Vax then, and he crossed his arms over his chest as he glared darkly up into Percy’s face.  “Alright, here's what we'll do, everyone is freaking out about your wellbeing, even if they aren't as blunt or impatient as I am.  So you're going to keep a lid on your emotions until we figure out what the fuck is happening with you.  And I will always be close by if possible, or my sister if need be.  I highly suggest you don't pull that trick around her.”

“That won’t...it won’t be a problem.”  Percy replied, and tried to sound more sure of that than he felt.  It was an easy thing for him to lie with a straight face, but with the unusual circumstances of yesterday’s….whatever that had been that had Vax so worried, Percy found it hard to keep up his impassive mask as his thoughts wandered back to a dream he’d had some time ago.  A dream of a smoky black entity of some sort, making him a promise, a deal, which had shortly led to his working on his first gun.  The rest was blurry, lost to both time and something more, but he was starting to wonder if it truly had been a dream as Vax walked away, but not without giving him one last little look.  One that was equal parts concern, and a promise that if he put them in danger in some way, he’d regret it.  “What have I done?”  Percy quietly whispered to himself.

“Done what Percy?”  Pike asked as she walked past, humming a little tune.  When he jumped and whirled on her in alarm, the gnome cleric blinked and looked up in confusion at his jumpiness.  “Is something wrong?”

“N-no, just got a nasty surprise this morning, and then found how Scanlan had entertained himself for the night.  It’s been one of those days already.”  Percy replied, playing off his nervousness as just having been thrown off his usual routine.  “I’m fine.”  He said and offered her a little smile in an effort to reassure her when Pike didn’t move in the slightest.

“Alright, but if you change your mind, you know where I am.”  Pike said at last before she started on her way once more, her hummed tune soon echoing softly behind her once again as she went.

Percy sighed, feeling slightly dirty and ashamed for having lied to Pike of all people, but Vax was right to be worried.  Shaking his head, he started back for his room, having forgotten his sketchbook on his desk after Giselle’s impromptu visit earlier, which had seen him visiting Scanlan shortly afterwards.

Pike meanwhile was stopped by Tiberius just as Percy turned to collect his book.  The sorcerer was waiting on the side of the mess hall door, his gaze following after the departing, gray hair human he too called a good friend, in his own fashion, before looking down towards Pike.  “So, did you, you know ask him about.... it?”

“You can't rush these things Tiberius, I'm sure he'll come to me when he's ready.  We just have to be patient is all.”

“Hmph, if you say so Pike.  Let’s just hope the rest of the day goes better than yesterday when Lady Kima tried to decapitate our new friend.”  Tiberius grumbled, having not enjoyed that outburst either, even if he had been one of the first people to agree that Kima had had a good reason not to trust Giselle.  Still, it hadn’t sat well with him regardless, mainly because, like the rest of the group, he hadn’t sensed any ill will from the dark elf in the slightest.  She was temperamental perhaps, but so was Grog, in his way, so that was hardly a point against her.

The dragonborn was drawn out of his thoughts when he saw their own ranger step into the low lit hallway.  “Are we talking about the thing?”  Vex quietly asked as she walked over to the pair, a very conspiratorial gleam in her brown eyes.  “Please tell me you’re talking about the smoky thing.”

“Yes Vex, we were talking about the smoky thing.”  Tiberius harrumphed under his breath as he gestured in Percy’s general direction, grateful he wasn’t within earshot in that moment.  “But he’s being clammy about it.  Pike was just saying we should be patient, and I was going to say poppycock to all that, but that’s just me.  Still, I trust our resident cleric far more than our new tagalong, even if she is...ahem, rather nice.”

“You three look like you’re plotting to take over the ship.  Relax, I've handled things for the moment.”  Vax vaguely offered as he took a sip of the caffeinated sludge the crew called coffee.  He made a face when the foul liquid hit his tongue, but given his less than plentiful upbringing, the half elven rogue forced himself to swallow the brown muck in question as he took a seat at one of the long brown, wooden tables in the mess.  “Blegh, tastes like lukewarm piss, but at least it’s something.”

“And you know what piss tastes like how exactly Vax?”  Scanlan asked as he shambled his way into the room, still slightly disheveled from his early morning wake up call.

“Don't ask.”  Vex muttered darkly as she strolled over to the minimal offerings at the breakfast table.  “I don't even know what this is.”  She groused as she picked up a molding brown biscuit of some kind.

“Yes, yes, we all know the accommodations leave something to be desired. What are we going to do about Percival?”

“What’s wrong with Percy?”  Grog asked as he too made his way to the mess hall.  It took those already there to see the recent addition to his face, but when they did, Vex could only gape as the goliath ran his hand over the new beard that had magically sprung up over his previously bald chin.  The cheerful grin on the big man’s face was all encompassing.  “Hehe, it just came in this morning.  That new belt Neria gave me from Gilmore’s done it.  Isn't it glorious?!”  It….was something, that was for sure, but glorious wouldn’t have been the first word that came to their minds.  Grog’s new beard looked like silver fishing wire someone had haphazardly glued to his face, but as the start of something that shouldn’t have been possible under normal circumstances, it was definitely something to be proud of.

“What's everybody staring at, is it still patchy?  I hear beards come in patchy at first.”  Grog asked with a worried look as his darting gaze settled on a concerned Pike.  “Pike, what's wrong?  You know I hate seein a frown on that cute lil face of yours.”

Vax pressed a hand to his forehead with an irritated sigh.  “Are you shitting us Grog?  Didn't you see what happened to Percy yesterday?”

“Ha, got his nose busted good, that was really funny.”  Grog chuckled as he stomped over to the table before planting his massive hands on the edge.  “But you talking about when he got all smoky right?  Yeah I saw it, but I don’t see what the big deal is.  He’s got all those weird toys of his right?  Who knows what they’re really capable of.”

“I’m pretty sure his weapons can’t make him start radiating smoke like magic, Grog.”  Pike replied, before reaching up to pat Grog on the side of his face, no easy feat given their vast size difference, but it was made easier since the barbarian was leaning down to address them all.  He blushed but shrugged despite the fact she had made a good point.  “But maybe you’re right big guy.  So far that’s all he’s done, but that still makes me worry since it’s never happened before.”

“How about you say that a little louder, I don’t think the whole ship heard you yet.”  All eyes fell on the dark elf as she strode into the mess, and made a beeline for the fresh pot of coffee.  Pouring herself a cup in short order, she downed half of its contents, and much to the twins’ annoyance, didn’t even grimace in the slightest.  “Been a while since I’ve had coffee on a ship.  Tastes about as badly as I remember.”  She mused aloud, in something that sounded unbelievingly like fond remembrance.  “I'd say you have about ten seconds to stop looking like a lynch mob before your friend walks in.”

“Just one question, how can you drink that crap?”  Scanlan asked, both to change the subject before Percy walked in, and because he genuinely wanted to know as he watched, astounded, as Giselle took her time with the second half of her glass of brown sludge that served as the crew’s caffeinated beverage of choice.

“I’ve served on a sailing vessel before, they had something eerily similar to this shit on board.  Might have killed more than a few taste buds, but it got the job done in keeping the crew awake and alert.  Good memories though.”  Giselle mused, the little smile on her face morphing into a contented grin just as Percy walked in.  She nodded and offered him a spare glass, which he took with a grateful nod of his head.  “Figured you’d need the extra caffeine after I barged in on you this morning.”

“Yes, I never did thank you for the heart attack this morning.”  He grumbled, but the little smile on his face wasn’t nearly as forced as it’d been before as he quickly filled his cup and took his first sip, before instantly regretting it.  “Blegh!  Right….well at least I’m awake now.”  The disgusted look on his face soon vanished at the quiet chuckle that got out of Giselle.

“So why were you on a ship?”  Pike asked, curiosity getting the better of her as Grog and Vex went to collect a few trays of food for the rest of the group.

“Long story short?”  Giselle began as she followed their example, marking a spot for Neria when she came up to join them after her morning prayers to her patron deities.  “The crew I served alongside with needed an extra sword between them and the roving bands of pirates that made it their business to attack most of the coastal cities and merchant trade routes, and I needed to make a lasting, positive impression, just as my father did a few centuries back when he originally came to the surface.”

“Sounds romantic.”  Scanlan swooned, resting his chin on his fist.

“Mostly it was smelly, cramped, and despite my being a Drow, some of the crew couldn’t help but make the occasional advance my way.  Otherwise though, it wasn’t bad, and it was a nice learning experience for all involved.”  Giselle shrugged since the good times far outweighed the few rough patches she had experienced along the way in those far happier days.  “Most of the crew of the  _ Siren’s Dance _ were good, loyal people, people you’d want at your side in times of trouble.  I made more than a few friends in those days.”

“Something we have in common.”  Pike mused aloud, before she blushed a little when she realized she had spoken aloud.  Giselle’s curious glance had the gnome rubbing the back of her head in mild embarrassment at having spoken aloud.  “I served on a vessel as well.  It was some of the best days of my life, but it was bittersweet since it was the longest I’d been away from Vox Machina.  It was necessary though, I needed to become stronger, to...find myself I guess you might say.”  The look Grog gave Pike as he put a surprisingly soft hand on her shoulder told more than the cleric had herself, but Giselle didn’t ask for more than the gnome was willing to share.

“Yes well, I was infatuated with the sea as a lad, but it turns out draconians don't make for the safest sailors in the world.  At least until someone starts making ships out of something other than wood.”  Tiberius told the group, surprising a few of them since they hadn’t imagined the at times stuffy sorcerer ever contemplating a life at sea.  When he noticed the surprised looks on his friends’ faces, he crossed his arms and blew out a blast of harmless smoke from his nostrils.  “What?  Is it really that hard to imagine?  I’d have made an excellent deckhand.”

“Or a walking fire hazard, dear.”  Vex retorted without missing a beat.  Grog’s loud burst of laughter had the half elven ranger turning to the barbarian and giving him a playful wink in response.

“Guys, I don't know if you noticed but - Oh hello Percy, lovely morning isn't it?”  Keyleth trailed off when she came around the corner and saw a slightly perturbed Percy staring over a less than pleased dark elf’s shoulder.  “Um….hi?”

“You know, you can all stop pretending for my sake.  I already had it out with Vax, and the situation seems to be under control for the time being.”  Percy confessed with more confidence than he felt.  “Truly, I'm fine, I mean it's not like I'm going to combust at any moment.”

“I don’t know, you tinker with a lot of strange sciency stuff that goes beyond our humble understanding, some of us far more than others I might add.”  Scanlan said with a shrug of his small shoulders as he let his cheerful, mischievous gaze fall on Keyleth for a moment.

“Well, if you hear any loud explosions in the near future and find a bloody smear on the floor of my workshop, feel free to say ‘I told you so’.”  Percy shot back before he too was soon seated with a tray of food and a far more normal looking glass of water at his side.

“Don't take it the wrong way Percy, we're just all so very worried about you.”  Pike murmured uncomfortably.

Percy sighed but managed to offer the cleric a grateful glance in her direction for her well meaning, and well founded, concern for his continued health and mental stability.  “I know Pike, it's just too difficult to explain, when I don't even understand it myself.”  The group let it drop since until something came of it, and until Percy was ready to do more than try to brush off their concerns, there wasn’t a lot they could do about it.

Giselle was the only one to notice Neria’s thoughtful look as she silently observed the group as a whole, having snuck into the mess hall while everyone’s attention had been on Percy.  After last night’s hardships, Giselle was glad to see her long time friend was back to some semblance of her normal self again as she heartily dug into her breakfast.  “Someone’s hungry.”  Scanlan mused, and even when Giselle shot him a less than subtle glare, the bard didn’t hesitate to drop the metaphorical ‘other shoe’.  “Did we get lucky by chance?”

Neria looked up from her tray and just smirked mischievously at the bard to her right and a few seats further down the table.  “A Sacred Prostitute does not kiss and tell, unlike certain, nosy bards I could name.  Although, Dasha and Feryin certainly seemed in good spirits, so I will give credit where credit is do.”

“Well, I don’t like to brag-”

“Yes you do.  It’s what you do all the time.”  Percy interrupted, but Scanlan went on as if he hadn’t said a thing.

“But I am quite good at hitting the right note.”  Scanlan had delivered his punchline perfectly, because Keyleth had been taking a drink from her glass.  Unfortunately for the poor druid, she couldn’t stop herself from spitting out her drink all over the table in front of her, as well as Grog who took the majority of it to the chest with a frown directed at Scanlan for having caused the mess in the first place.  “As you can see.”  Scanlan stated, and waved to Keyleth and Grog, as if they had proven his point perfectly.

It was then that the good captain himself stuck his head into the mess, saw that most of his passengers were stuffing their faces or were just finishing up, and glared down at them all in equal measure.  “Mess is closed till lunch!  Come on you lot get a move on, this ain't no pleasure cruise.”

“I beg to differ good sir!”  Scanlan protested with his usual boisterous bluster.

“Someone grab Scanlan before he gets keelhauled at a thousand feet.”  Percy droned as he got up from his seat in one fluid motion about the same time Neria and Giselle did.

Grog wasted no time in following Percy’s request, his already cleaned tray of food forgotten.  No one felt the need to point out that some of his food had wound up in his strange little beard.  “On it!  Come here you!”

“Grog, I'm into the rough stuff, just not quite that rough.”  Scanlan replied as he was easily lifted from his spot in the long bench table in one of Grog’s massive, gray skinned hands.

Following after Grog and a still ‘airborne’ Scanlan after he had taken care of his own tray, Percy fell in lockstep with the Drow ranger, his face pulled partially down into a frown.  Before Giselle could ask what was on his mind, he folded his hands neatly behind his back and squared his shoulders, appearing every inch the nobleman he’d once been some time ago.  “Just so you know, I think your little plan is very unsporting.  I'm all for a bit of fun, but there's fun, and then there's cruel and unusual punishment.”

“It’s not meant to be fun.”  Giselle stated simply.  “Besides, if it works as Neria intends, it’ll make her job that much easier.”

Perry’s eyes lit up with understanding, even as his wry grin dropped into a concerned frown.  “Ah, so the good Lady Neria might sooth Kima’s wounds, physical and otherwise. It's our role that troubles me,  I don't take any pleasure from being the one to inflict them.”

“If it makes you feel better, despite my personal dislike for what she is, I only agreed to this at all because Neria suggested it.  I understand all too well what this means to her, so I won’t sabotage her efforts in any way.”  Giselle’s face was set in stone, all but informing anyone that happened to walk by that she wasn’t going to be changing her mind for any reason or altering her plans in the slightest.

Getting the none too subtle hint that when it came to Neria’s profession and her ideology, she was not one to argue against, Percy decided not to try to talk her down.  Instead, the gunslinger nodded and changed gears.  “So, should I tell the others about your little surprise, or would you like to ‘shock' them?”  The gleam that filled the Drow ranger’s gaze answered Percy’s question.  He shook his head and couldn’t help the grin that tugged at his lips.  “Surprise it is then.”

“Good.  I’d hate to have to break your giant gun over my knee.”  Giselle retorted, and while the comment sounded perfectly neutral, Percy had a feeling that she’d do just that if push came to shove.  As such, he couldn’t help but reach up towards the weapon slung across his back, as if he meant to protect it from the violence prone Drow at his side.

Choosing to ignore the threat to his long, barreled wonder he had named Bad News, Percy instead decided to get something off his chest.  It was probably the safer of two options anyway.  “Just one request if I may, not the face, I'd rather preserve my noble nose.”

“I’ll do my best.”  Giselle replied with a laugh as she patted him on the shoulder.  “It helps I happen to like your noble nose just the way it is.”

“Really?  That’s comforting.”  Percy stated with a relieved smirk appearing on his face.

“It is.”  Giselle glared over her shoulder at Neria when she decided to butt into the conversation, a teasing, mischievous gleam in her blue eyes all too evident.

“Try not to enjoy yourself too much, oh who am I kidding.”

“I need to talk to Scanlan, if you’ll excuse me.”  Neria politely said and walked off to catch up with Grog and the bard he was still holding aloft with one hand.  She cast one last look at Giselle and Percy though, and offered her long time friend a knowing wink that had the ranger glaring in retort, before jogging down the hall before the two of them got too far.

Percy didn’t hear Neria’s side of the conversation, but from the intrigued look she got in return from the gnome, he seemed to like the idea, whatever it was.  “Really?  That's it? I could put on a whole show for you, but fine.  Simple is better I suppose, not to mention more believable.  I’ll do my best to please you my lady.”

“I am glad to hear it Sir Shorthalt.”  Neria stated and leaned in for a quick kiss on Scanlan’s forehead that had him grinning dreamily towards the cleric as she soon left him and Grog behind.

“Did she just-”  Percy began.

Only for Giselle to answer his as yet unfinished question.  “Yes she did.  You get used to it.”

“You realize Scanlan’s going to be insufferable now right?”  Percy asked after a moment had passed between them.

“ _ Yep _ .  And far more willing to help her in the future, and thus me.  Neria doesn’t need magic to make people cooperative.”  Giselle chuckled softly as she patted the gunslinger on the back, just as the man’s earring started to chime.  Just as she started to pick up speed in her stride, the Drow slowed and once more walked beside Percy as Scanlan ‘whispered’ Neria’s request to the rest of the group that also had an earring.

“Really now?  I like it.  I’m in.”  Vex chimed in first, sounding quite interested in the scheme about to put together.

“Of course you are sis.”  Vax stated as well, but the interest in his otherwise bored tone was hard not to notice.

Predictable as ever, Keyleth wasn’t so enthused by the idea.  “I don't know, it's so deceptive and-"

“That's what makes it so much fun, your Highness.  Nothing wrong with a little harmless fun I say.”  Tiberius reassured the guilty sounding druid.  “I like the idea, but I have to wonder if Lady Zathrial has done this before.  Meh, no matter, she at least seems to comprehend Lady Kima pretty well despite having only just met her yesterday.”

“As long as I get to hit  _ somethin’ _ I'm happy!  Kima or Neria, don’t matter much to me.  I’ll uh….try to be nice to Neria though.”  Giselle had to bite her tongue at that as she overheard Grog’s response through Percy’s earring.  Percy too found it rather humorous for the same reason since it wasn’t often the big guy ever held back his swings, even during mere sparring matches between members of the more martial minded of Vox Machina.  Pike was the only one that seemed to get the ‘light handed’ treatment more times than not, but with the gnome cleric, he didn’t hold back much Percy had noted before.

Having since returned to the upper decks of the skyship, Percy grimaced slightly as his and Giselle’s eyes adjusted to the morning light that shone down on them all.  He did far better than his current companion as the Drow’s glowing, almond orbs watered and she could only peer through half lids for several seconds, but eventually she got over the worst of her race’s apparent sensitivity.  “You know, I might be able to help with that.”  He said, and when Giselle looked at him with confusion, he gestured to her eyes vaguely.  “I might be able to make you something so the light doesn’t bother you as much.”

“Oh….it’s fine.  It’s something I’ve gotten used to for the most part, but thank you for the offer.”

Scanlan raced ahead, leaning up towards a familiar looking deckhand as she bent down to whisper in his ear.  “Alright my lovelies, a little bird told me Lady Kima is sulking by the bow.  Jenga, anyone?

“Jenga?  What’s going on?”  Pike asked, the last one to wander up to the deck when she saw everyone else had been heading upwards.

“Neria’s got a plan to beat some sense into Kima.”  Vax explained from the side of the stairwell just as Pike walked by, causing her to whirl about with a loud clank as she did.

“ _ Oh _ , got it.”  Pike said with a nod, strangely agreeable to the idea.  “So Jenga’s the code word for….what then?”

“You’ll see Pike, don’t worry.  First, you might as well enjoy the show.”  Giselle said and patted the diminutive gnome on one armored shoulder before heading to the bow of the ship.  The first part would be easy, it was the other half that would require some careful planning and a measure of acting that Scanlan at least would find incredibly easy, given his profession.  What she worried about was the rest of the team as Giselle slowly pulled her scimitars and stalked towards the bow, where Lady Kima was already located, running a wet rag across the head of a giant maul that was as equally large and impressive as the fiery greatsword she had been wielding yesterday.

Balancing the maul on one knee, Kima didn’t look up when Giselle walked over with her blades drawn.  She did however look away from the weapon resting against her leg when the halfling registered the fact the Drow had her blades drawn and a worried look on her face.  “You need to get off this ship immediately.”

“Why?  What’s going on?”  No sooner had the words left her mouth did an arrow fly by her face.  Kima jumped to her feet and hefted her maul, only to stare in abject confusion when she saw a strange, eerily familiar glow in Vex’s eyes.  “What’s going on here Drow?!”

Shooting Kima a quick glance that was far more concerned than offended, Giselle jerked to the side when Vex’s second arrow brushed past her cheek and sailed through her ponytail, hitting the simple bindings that held it together.  She hardly batted an eye when her silver gray mane fell loosely over her shoulders, while internally she shivered at how close the ranger’s shot had been.   _ Okay, that was a little close Vex. _  Out loud though she said, “Hey, don't look at me, you can blame Neria for this one.  She was so enraged, I fear she may have done something drastic.  Move!  You need to-”

If Giselle hadn’t known Neria for as long as she had, the cold, stony look on her face would have unnerved her far more than it did.  Even then though, the Drow wondered how much of the act was just that, and not her channeling old hurts to make the show they were putting on that much more believable as she slowly pulled her sword from its sheath with an ominous, soft screech of metal scraping across leather.  “Giselle, I see you beat me to the little bitch, go on then, you deserve it more that I do.”  

“Sorry Neria, but as much as I might loathe her for trying to kill me, I’m not about to let you hurt her.”

Neria let out what could only be described as an evil cackle of laughter as she wiped a tear from her eye.  “Oh Giselle, you always knew how to make me laugh.  Now slice out her heart for me would you?”

“Not gonna happen!”  Giselle spat back, and tightened her grip on the hilts of her blades, pointing her right hand blade towards the maddened cleric in front of her.  “I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but I’m not gonna be a part of your madness.”

“You’re one to talk of madness, given your little….problem.”  Neria nearly winced at the cruel words, but quickly continued.  “Step aside.  Now.”  Pulling her shield from her back, Neria did her best to ignore the very real hardness that pulled at the edges of Giselle’s dark face.  She made her own mental point to apologize profusely when this was over, but for the moment, the cleric was still acting the part of a woman having gone off the deep end.  It was crucial Kima believed her life was truly in danger, or it would all be for nothing.

For the moment though, Kima seemed genuinely alarmed by what was unfolding before her as she instinctively sidled up to Giselle’s side, her gaze never leaving the enthralled members of Vox Machina, or the maddened cleric in front of her.  “What in the Nine Hells?!  She was so nice.  I might have been a bit harsh yesterday, but clearly your friend isn't all there at the moment.”  Kima said with a flinch as three daggers whizzed past her head in rapid succession.  “What has she done to my friends?!”

“Dominate spell, a strong one if I were to guess!  It’s part of the deal with her!”  Giselle lied as she nimbly ducked under the first of Grog’s swings with a flaming fucking warhammer of all things.   _ What is it with giant warriors having an affinity for equally giant weapons? _  Giselle mentally groused as she jumped back when the goliath brought his hammer down where she’d just been standing, leaving a smoking impact mark on the ship’s deck.  The captain was not going to be happy about that later, but a little extra gold would smooth things over, she hoped anyway as Grog roared in challenge, his eyes shining with the light of Scanlan’s little Seeming spell, along with the barbarian’s trademark Rage.

For his part, Percy wasn't apt to play the utterly enthralled slave.  As such, he made a grand show of trying to hold his right hand down with his left, only to ‘fail’ as he brought the smaller of his two guns to bear on the holy Paladin.  “Kima, I- I can't, DUCK!”  He yelled, giving Kima more than enough warning to dodge his precise shot.  Despite his shout, he still managed to clip her with wooden debris from the hole his Pepperbox’s bullet made on its way through the deck.

Giselle whirled towards Percy, having never heard or seen the damage his strange weapons were able to create.  She looked towards the deck, only to have to bend backwards at the last moment as Neria lashed out with her sword, the blade glowing with divine light.  Instead of dealing with her first and foremost, Giselle spun on the spot, kicked Neria in the back so that she stumbled away, and charged for the gunslinger directly.  “Sorry Percy, you’ll thank me later.”

“Oh dear.”  Percy quietly muttered to himself a split second before Giselle’s boot clipped his chin.  Thankfully he'd have a light bruise at worst instead of a broken jaw, but his head still snapped back pretty hard and he fell on his back.  Despite his reservations about playing the part assigned to him, the gunslinger started to swing his gun towards Giselle before she, thankfully, kicked it from his hand, only to be blasted aside by a small, blonde headed cleric that looked a little too cheerful for Percy’s liking.  “Oh dear.”  Percy repeated to himself as Pike swung her mace towards the ranger, having clipped her against her left side with her shield.

Nodding towards Pike in approval, both as the one ‘controlling’ the little cleric and because of her assistance in this farce, Neria soon turned her icy blue gaze on Kima anew.  “If you could hold still, this will be over quickly Kima.  You aren't going to sacrifice your precious friends for your pride are you?”

Regaining her feet with a simple roll, Giselle threw her blades out wide to either side and yelled, “Let them go and take me on!  Just you and me, or are you that much of a coward?!”

“No, I’m not a fool.  I know I don’t have a chance against you, Giselle.”  Neria replied, and dismissively towards her old friend before turning her attention to the dragonborn that had thus far remained out of the fight.  “Tiberius, burn this annoying little armored tick for me.”

“Are you sure that's a good-err Kima no, must fight alluring elven temptress-"  Tiberius gasped out as he unleashed a fireball that was far more illusion than conflagration as Kima was lightly blasted against the ship’s railing.

Scanlan chose that moment to throw a bit some ‘Cutting Words’ out there just as Kima recovered her footing, only to have an enraged goliath bearing down on her.  “Hey Kima!  You won’t block his attack, you jackass!”  Scanlan shouted, his words a mere distraction rather than laced with his magic as was normally par for the course.  He didn’t want to actually get her killed, so he didn’t draw upon the magic that came with his craft, but Kima didn’t know that.

Kima had all of three seconds to turn her head to the side as Scanlan’s shout pulled her attention away, only to realize, too late, her mistake as Grog raised his flaming warhammer over his head.  “Arrrrgghhhh, sorry Kima, hhhhhhh!”  She was just able to bring her maul up to block most of the barbarian’s overpowering strength, but even that had the paladin forced into the ship’s railing behind her with such force that it cracked and broke under the sheer weight behind the swing.  Not only that, but Grog forced her arms down, which allowed his hammer to smash into her left shoulder.  Even with her armor blocking most of the impact, she still felt numbing waves of energy reverberate through her that left her shaken as nothing but open sky stretched out behind her.

Instinctively, Kima did the only thing she could do as Grog raised his hammer for another strike.  She called for help from the only person still in possession of her senses.  “Get Grog off me!”  While she was far from helpless, Kima didn’t want to harm the goliath if she could avoid it as she pushed at the giant warrior, forcing him back a step.  While it wasn’t enough to give her room to swing her maul with any real force behind it, it was certainly far better than being on the edge. “Giselle!  Little help over here!”

Then the strangest thing happened.  The unnatural glow to Grog’s gaze faded, and he looked downright apologetic as he backed off the moment the words left Lady Kima’s mouth.  Blinking in abject confusion, Kima could only stare as the rest of the group either got to their feet or simply walked towards the utterly dumbfounded paladin.  It started to make sense though when Giselle sheathed her swords with a victorious grin on her face.  “See, was that so hard?”  Off to the side of the deck, she could see a displeased looking Keyleth currently in the process of calming a very confused Trinket.

When she put two and two together, surprise gave way to anger as Kima glared up at the Drow and Neria as they stood side by side once more.  “Son of a fucking bitch!”  Kima spat out as her eyes fell to one member of Vox Machina and the two newcomers to another.  “This was all some kind of elaborate prank?!”

“A prank?  No, although I think some of us enjoyed it a little more than others.”  Giselle shrugged even as she shot Vex a questionable glare.  The ranger just winked and smirked in retort before she tossed her head of raven black hair over her shoulder.  Making another mental note to talk to Vex about that at a later time, Giselle turned back to Kima anew.  “It was to prove a point.”

“What  _ point _ ?!  That you’re all a bunch of jackasses?"

“Actually, I believe the goal of this-"

“Shut up dragonborn.  You're getting on my nerves, and what the Hell?! You shot a fireball at me!”

Neria stepped forward hesitantly and held up her now empty hands in a placating gesture.  “The point was to show you that you do not have to bear your burdens alone.”  Kima once more blinked, taken aback by the woman’s sincere, soft tone of voice that was only matched by the elven cleric’s sheer apologetic, shame filled visage as her blue eyes struggled to maintain their gaze on the halfling’s face.  “That you can rely upon those around you.”

“ _ This _ again?!”  Kima shouted and brought her maul derisively up to her right shoulder with a snort.  “I already told you I was  _ fine _ .”  Yet even as the words left her mouth, Neria wasn’t the only one that could see the cracks in her armor as Kima struggled to keep the truth bottled up behind her outrage and anger.

“You know what I think would solve all this stress and anxiety?”  Scanlan asked, and as before, when Giselle spun around to glare daggers at him, he didn’t heed the warning written plainly on her face for all to see.

Percy instead seemed to answer Scanlan’s question with a cry of, “Pirates!”

“Very funny, Percy.  No, I wouldn't exactly call that a stress relie-”  When a giant shadow flew overhead, and a beastial screech followed, Scanlan jerked his head up just as a large wyvern passed overhead, bearing a rider saddled securely on the creature’s scaled back.  And it was far from the only one as the group saw several more, wheeling and diving through the sky, all of them bearing pirate raiders on their backs.  Scanlan took one look at the group, and it was his turn to shout, “Oh shit, pirates!”

“You gotta be fucking kidding me!”  Kima shouted, her anger forgotten as she soon joined the rest of Vox Machina on the deck as guards rushed out of the skyship’s lower deck.  The Captain’s crew proved little match for the pirates however, as the wyverns began to either tore into them with claws and teeth, threw them overboard, or simply crushed them when the giant beasts landed on the deck.  Not only that, but a couple of the winged beasts, upon closer inspection, weren’t wyverns at all, but poison tailed griffons that were smaller but no less agile than their scaly brethren.  “I swear to Bahamut, if this is another-”

“It’s not!  So save it and let’s get to work!”  Giselle shouted back, and held up her left hand sword with its sapphire in the hilt, the blade having started to glow with blue light, and wasted little time as a griffon landed several feet away, only to bring its tail back to strike against her.  She narrowed her eyes at the beast and its rider, only to seem to blur out of sight for the briefest of moments as she dodged to the right, the creature’s barbed tail sinking into the deck where she’d just been standing.  The tail was soon pinned to the wood by Giselle’s left hand sword, but the ranger was far from done as she ran up the tail, her giant cat maw hilted sword in hand, and ran up to the rider on the creature’s back.  Instead of dealing with him directly however, Giselle jumped clean over the man in the saddle, who could only stare in utter shock, and brought her sword down towards the griffon’s head, aiming for the spot where the neck met the rest of the body.

Percy didn’t think of what he was doing.  He simply brought a reloaded Pepperbox around and slammed the hammer down as he pulled the trigger, again, and again, and again.  Four shots rang out, slamming into the giant griffon’s body.

BAM!  One slammed into the beast’s right wing, tearing through flesh and bone with sickening ease.

BAM!  Shot two found a new home through the left side of the creature’s face, shredding the jaw and coming out of its cheek, sending teeth and pieces of its face whirling away behind it.  Shot three tore a path through its left front leg, just below its shoulder, hobbling it on the spot as a burst of ice followed immediately in its wake.  It was the last shot that did the job however just as Giselle’s blade found the mark.

Giselle felt the bullet’s passage as it tore through her cloak, having passed cleanly through the griffon’s open mouth as it screamed in agony and out the back of its skull.  She was showered in its brain and bits of its skull from the hips down as she buried her sword into the base of its neck.  Yanking her blade free with a sickening squelch, she rode the beast down to the deck as it collapsed onto its stomach before casually pulling the sword she had used to pin its tail free of the ship’s deck.  The griffon’s rider was absolutely stunned, paralyzed from how brutally his mount had just been butchered right out from under him.  So much so that the spear he had in his hand slipped from his fingers, and clattered to the deck, where it promptly rolled away, unheeded by its former owner.

His comrades weren’t so stunned however.  Claws and barbed tails continued to take the deck, ripping open or impaling anyone unfortunate enough to be within their reach.  The crew was well trained however, and several still managed to man the massive ballistas at the sides and bow of the ship.  As such, one such ballista team was able to turn the massive weapon on one of the wyverns, and land a shot into its left flank, holding it in place as it tried to fly away.  It didn’t get far before the line attached to the long metallic shaft snapped taut, stopping its flight and dragging it back down to the deck in an undignified heap, where Grog was waiting.

“Hello you scaly bastard!”  With three punishing strikes from his fiery warhammer, the goliath crippled the beast’s right wing, and left claw.  Yelping in pain, the wyvern reared back, unceremoniously throwing its screaming rider off its back and over the side, one such swing burning through the leather straps that secured the saddle to the creature, as well as a few that secured the rider in the same breath.  “Haha!  Now this is more like it!”  Grog called out in glee, only to grimace when the wyvern, still very much alive, clamped down its jaw on his right shoulder and tossing him back across the deck with a jerk of its head.  “Oh now you gone and done it!”

Before he could bring his hammer down again, three daggers shot over his shoulder from an unseen Vax, who had taken full advantage of the wyvern’s attention being on the goliath to launch a sneak attack of his own.  As was his habit, Vax started with his keen dagger that soon found a new home in the wyvern’s face, specifically its right eye.  While it didn’t bring it down, it certainly got the beast’s attention as it roared and tossed its head about in agony, and exposed the side of its neck, where Vax’s second dagger found its mark with a sickly green flash.  While the poison didn’t take hold, it still burned its way into the wound, just as Vax’s third dagger flew from his hand.  “Go fuck yourself.”  He droned and casually walked away with a rude gesture thrown over his shoulder, just as the wyvern slumped dead to the deck with his flametongue dagger lodged into the front of its skull, having burned a hole right through its hard scales to find the soft, squishy gray matter underneath.  “The rider’s all yours Grog.”  Vax called out over his shoulder, which got a menacing, deep laugh from the goliath barbarian.

“Oh, I do so enjoy a nice lil gift like you!”  Laughing maniacally, Grog grabbed the desperately scrambling rider's leg with bone crushing force and promptly dragged the man towards the rail.  The rider dug his nails into the deck in an effort to fight the goliath for every inch of ground, but the gray skinned warrior just laughed down at the pirate.  “Now, now it'll all be over soon you little pussy!”  And with those less than solemn words, Grog hefted the man up over his shoulders and gracelessly chucked him over the side.

While this was going on, Neria and Pike were back to back, being harried by a rather annoying wyvern that just would not come down to fight them fairly.  “This wasn’t what I had in mind when I woke up this morning.”  Neria grumbled, just as the rider threw a spear towards the gnome.  Bringing her crescent moon emblazoned shield up, a flash of pure white light blasted outward as she batted the projectile aside before it could find the gnome’s armored side.

“At least our lives aren’t boring.”  Pike retorted with a sidelong smirk on her face before she put her mace head down at her side and promptly grasped her holy symbol.  A similar, radiant golden glow emanated from her pendant, and filled the gnome’s hand before she shot it out towards the wyvern that was still circling them.  The guiding bolt veered to the left just as the winged dragon like creature tried to dodge, but it slammed into its scaly side, lighting it up and making it an easier target.

“Nicely done!  Any chance you can ground the blasted thing?”  She’d have tried something herself, but she was busy trying to keep Pike and herself safe as the wyvern and its rider continued to circle them like an oversized vulture.  Once more, Neria attempted to bring her shield up and deflect another missile, only to let out a yelp of pain because while she managed to block the majority of the spear’s flight, it still glanced off of her arm on its way by, leaving a shallow but stinging cut behind right between her armored plates.

“One second, I have an idea.”  With a look of concentration as she clutched her pendant, Pike summoned a massive glowing lasso, which she cast towards the beast, luckily wrapping it around its scaly neck.  Dropping her sword and shield, Neria grasped the Spiritual Weapon created rope right alongside Pike, and both of them planted their feet as best they could before yanking the beast down, hard.  The wyvern gave a strangled scream as it came crashing down onto the side of the ship, tumbling to a stop in an undignified heap on its back, its rider smashed beyond recognition.  Picking up her shield and slapping her mace back up on her shoulder, Pike shared a nod with Neria before they started towards the wounded beast, intent on ending its suffering.

Retrieving her own shield and sword, Neria focused on the dazed female rider that had been behind her now dead friend who was currently a red paste smeared across the deck.  Both clerics gave the trapped rider, currently bound to her saddle, a sad, pitying look as Neria bent down to get a look at her face.  “You’re barely twenty years old.”  She noted, astounded by the fact the woman who was now looking at the two of them with terror in her eyes was so young.  Pike shared an uncertain look with the elf, both of them at a loss as to what to do at that moment.

Vex and Tiberius weren’t so confused however as the last of the wyverns and their riders came in on either side, claws outstretched towards the pair.  The ranger focused some of her innate magical ability before a red, arcane like symbol appearing around one of the wyvern’s bodies, that made her aim slightly better as she fired her bow in rapid succession.   “Really hope the others are doing better than we are!”  She shouted in frustration as she rolled to the side, foiling the first wyvern’s attack as it missed, scraping the deck on its way past.  Between that and her first shot finding its mark in its underbelly, it was a minor miracle that it had gotten so close at all.  Before it had time to swoop in for another pass, Vex fired her second arrow.  It too hit the wyvern, but the wooden shaft splintered and shattered harmlessly across its armored, scale covered side, earning a heated string of curses from Vex.

“Oh I wouldn't say we're fairing that terribly Vex.”  Tiberius retorted, as he aimed for the underbelly of the wyvern, using telekinesis to stab it with one of the ballista’s massive javelins.

Just as a searing bolt of lightning struck the rider and beast alike.  Between Tiberius’s improvised missile, and Scanlan’s lightning bolt, the metallic shaft of the giant javelin that was stuck in the wyvern’s side acted as a conductor for the magical energy released by the bard.  Needless to say, when the wyvern hit the deck, it was a smoking crispy pile of burned flesh.  Scanlan gave one look at the burnt remains and made a face as he waved a hand in front of his nose.  “Ewwwww, that is so disgusting.”

“Ha.  You should run and flee while you c-" Keyleth barely managed to dodge a bolt fired at her from the last pair of airborne riders, the halfing behind his elven partner pulling another crossbow bolt from a sling at his side.  “Alright then.”  With an irked glare, she cast Polymorph on the screeching wyvern, which promptly morphed into a harmless, cute little bunny.  The bunny and riders alike immediately started to plummet to their equally surprised deaths.  Or so Keyleth thought, until a pair of grappling hooks found purchase on the ship’s railing.  “Oh you gotta be kidding me.”  Sure enough, looking over the side revealed that while their mount was gone, the two riders had secured themselves to the side of the ship, and were currently pulling themselves up onto the deck.

“Stand aside Lady Keyleth.”  The druid didn’t think twice, and stepped back as Kima slammed her maul down onto the railing, shattering the wood with ease, and sending one of the riders down to his doom as his grappling hook came loose.  Before she could finish the job however, the second scrambled aboard, and immediately pulled a curved saber which he brought down towards the paladin first and foremost.  The curved saber found purchase against Kima’s shoulder while the rider kicked out to the side at the same time, sending Keyleth stumbling back, unable to assist the paladin as she tried to block the lightning quick strike with her maul.  The armor took most of the strike, but she still felt the blade sink partially into her metal plate, leaving a nasty bruise from the impact.  It was enough to knock her off balance as she stumbled back, only to see the elf rear his arm back before shooting it forward, intent on burying his blade into her chest.

“ _ Hey _ , knife ears!”  The elf stumbled and looked towards the gnome for just a moment, unsure why that shout had diverted his attention at all, and shook off his confusion almost as quickly.  It was only a momentary lapse of attention, but it was enough for Kima to nimbly step to the side just as he lunged forward.

Twin blades slashed into his chest a split second later as the man dropped dead at Giselle’s feet.  “I had him!  Stay out of my way!”  Kima angry shouted, feeling cheated of her sure victory.

“You’re welcome.”  Giselle shot back with a roll of her eyes as she used the dead elf’s clothing to wipe her blades clean before sheathing the weapons once more.  Turning to the side, she narrowed her eyes a little when she saw Grog beckoning them over to one of the dead wyverns, where she had seen Neria and Pike what felt like hours of fighting but had only been barely two minutes worth.

“He he, hey everybody, Pike’s got herself a new pet!”  Grog heartily laughed as he picked said struggling wounded pet up with one arm and displayed her to the group.

“Put her down Grog.”  Pike said with a sigh as the goliath stomped over to the rail and held the terrified halfling woman out over the edge.  “Not like that!”

“Aahhh….alright.”  Grog pouted before casually tossing the halfling at Pike’s feet.  “Ya hear that?  You might get to live if ya behave yourself.”

Neria decided now was a good as time as any to start asking the questions they all no doubt wanted answered.  Sharing a brief glance with Giselle, the Drow nodded and made it a point to partially draw her blades, just enough to get the halfling’s attention as the cleric knelt down so they were eye to eye.  “I suggest you be completely honest with your answers, little one.  I cannot guarantee your safety if you try to deceive us.”  She stated softly, gently, showing a level of compassion the scared halfling girl likely wasn’t used to if her rough, haggard appearance was anything to go by.

“O-of course.”  She stuttered, her face going from terrified to slightly hopeful as she couldn’t help but stare, dumbfounded and enthralled by the blue eyes that were staring into her own.

“Who sent you?”  Vax roughly interjected, his darting gaze seemingly expecting reinforcements at any moment.

“Sent us?  We raid ships passing this way all the time.  Saw your vessel, looked bigger than most, so we took the chance.  Didn’t expect it to be this well protected.”  The halfling explained rapidly and honestly, in full survival mode now that she saw a chance she might just get out of this mess with her hide intact.  And while she had broken eye contact with the wood elf that had put herself down to her level, the halfling couldn’t help but feel her gaze drawn back to her just as quickly.

”I gotta know how she does that.”  Scanlan whispered to Tiberius, who harrumphed and muttered something about ‘strange holy magic’.

Neria got to her feet, her decision seemingly made.  “Captain, I notice you seem to be in need of able deckhands at the moment.”

“Well, I normally just throw pirates like her overboard.”  The man replied, to which Grog just grinned maliciously down at the halfling.

“So what do we do with her Captain?”  Giselle shouted to the man in question, and while it annoyed her a little to be defending one of the pirates that had been trying to kill them a moment ago, the Drow made it a point to stand in front of the halfling, blocking Grog in the process.  The goliath pouted once more, but a look from Pike got him to back off with a grunt.

“For now, guess you take her down to the brig.  We’ll sort her out between now and when we reach our destination I suppose.  One slip up though, and it’s off the ship, the expedient way.”

“Your friend is a kind hearted fool, Drow.”  Kima mockingly whispered to the dark elf, despite the look of admiration in her eyes.

“We’re in agreement on that,”  Giselle said as she watched the twins and Tiberius march the halfling downstairs, with Neria bringing up the rear, “but that kind heart saw me for  _ who  _ I am, not what I am.  You might want to look in the mirror before you keep throwing stones my way, halfling.”  The less than subtle nod she directed at the prisoner that was being lead away had Kima gritting her teeth.


	6. Episode: 1.6:  Troubled and Restless

**Episode 1.6:  Troubled and Restless**

Sitting near the edge of the railing, Giselle watched the sun descend over the horizon, Guenhwyvar at her side.  It was later on in the day of the attack, and the few injuries they had accumulated had long since been healed thanks to Pike and Neria.  In fact, now that she thought about it, the ranger hadn’t expected them to have so easily destroyed the pirates as they did, but Giselle couldn’t help but smile down at her longtime companion as she remembered how they had accomplished their victory at all.  “They’re pretty strong and capable warriors, Guen.”  She mused aloud, her hand running across the panther’s midnight colored fur along the back of her neck.  The massive black panther growled in agreement as she rested her head on Giselle’s lap.  The Drow chuckled and felt her smile grow further as she went back to staring at the setting sun amidst the soft, white puffy clouds stretching out before them.  “Maybe this wasn’t such a bad idea after all?”  Guen once again growled low in her throat in agreement, which had the Drow sighing in contentment despite the issues between her and Kima still as present as ever.  “I should just say Neria’s right all the time and get it over with huh?”  Guenhwyvar flicked her tongue over the dark elf’s fingers when she put her hand on her leg, and earned another light, easy laugh from her when she did.  “I thought as much.”

Percy sheepishly approached the pair, deciding it probably wouldn't be the best idea to sneak up on a six hundred pound panther and her deadly ranger companion.  Remembering how she had driven her sword through the griffon’s neck while he’d been firing into its body, he had a very good reason not to get on her bad side, or to sneak up on her for that matter.  As such, he cleared his throat, loudly, so that both panther and ranger knew he was in the area.  “Well there you two are. I'll have you know that I've been searching all over for you fine ladies.”  The gunslinger couldn’t help gulping back a lump of fear as Guen eyed him up like a Percy sized steak.  When Giselle playfully batted her on her nose though, Guen let out a resigned huff and went back to laying her head on the ranger’s leg.

She did turn and offer Percy an easy smile and beckoned him over.  “I promise, she won’t hurt you.  I was just enjoying the view, although it’s not the most comfortable given my light sensitivity.  It’s a small price to pay though, because I’ve never seen a sunset this high up before that wasn’t from the side of a mountain.”

“Truly beautiful.”  Percy agreed as he walked over to join her, but whether he was talking about the sunset or something else entirely was up for debate.  “Um, here, I practically had to rip this from Vex’s clutches, but Vox Machina would very much like you and Neria to know that we appreciate your help today.”  Percy told her with a grateful grin, as he held out a hefty sized pouch.

Giselle couldn’t help but grin back as she took the coin pouch from Percy’s grasp and promptly made it disappear into one of her belt’s pouches for now.  “Well thank you kindly Percy.  I’ll have to thank Vex for letting go of some of her hard earned money when I see her again, just to drive the point home.”

“You really aren’t afraid of anything are you?  Most people wouldn’t poke someone with a giant bear.”  Percy replied, more than a little amazed by the brass balls on the ranger next to him as he finally sat down, even as he stared at the giant panther resting her head on said woman’s knee with more than a little nervousness.  “Not that giant predators are a particular fear of yours, obviously.”

Giselle chuckled but shrugged as she ran her fingers across the top of Guen’s head again.  “Obviously, but Vex and her  _ pet  _ don’t scare me.”  She replied, her brown eyes flashing dangerously before she calmed almost as quickly.

Unable to help but notice how she said that as well as how her brown eyes flashed, Percy remembered the last time this conversation had come up, and said, “I’ve been meaning to ask, but you keep saying ‘pet’ as if it’s a curse.  Why is that?  Vex loves Trinket, she does her best to keep him alive, and that loveable giant bear has saved our hides more than once.”

“And yet she treats said bear as if she were the better of the two.”  Giselle replied without a moment of thought on her part.  When Percy raised an eyebrow inquisitively at the less than clear statement, Giselle nodded, realizing she needed to explain the difference between them as best she could.  “Alright, let me try to explain this.  I get that Vex loves her animal friend, that she’d likely do whatever she had to do to keep Trinket alive, and he would return the favor, but the respect and appreciation is not equal in their partnership.  She sees Trinket, even if she isn’t aware of it, as a tool, a very valued, very treasured tool, but a tool none the less.  If it came between herself and Trinket, and only one of them would get out of a situation alive, her choice would break her heart, but she’d choose to sacrifice Trinket first over herself.”

“Not to sound incredibly rude Giselle, but your friend and Trinket aren’t exactly the same.”  Percy dared to say, and was relieved that she didn’t take offense to his choice of words, let alone the insinuation behind his words.  If anything, she seemed to accept the intent with a nod as Guenhwyvar looked up to regard him.

“No, you’re right, they aren’t the same, far from it in fact.  Trinket is purely animal, purely bound in the prime material plane that we all exist in, while Guenhwyvar is a magical construct given shape and substance centuries ago if the stories I’ve uncovered are to be believed.  The rules surrounding her ability to be summoned are clear, as are the magics placed upon her, demanding obedience from any other that were to try and control her.  But Guenhwyvar was a panther, once, long before I ever inherited her figurine.”  Guenhwyvar chose that moment to let a low, long growl escape her throat as Giselle rested her hand on the top of her long time friend’s head.  It was becoming increasingly clear to the gunslinger there was a level of trust between the two that went far beyond what Vex shared with Trinket, something that went far beyond the way the half elf treated her giant bear.

But the lesson was only beginning as Giselle continued to explain the differences between them.  “Even if she hadn’t been though, I’d still treat her better than some pet to be disposed of the moment a dire situation demanded it.  To consider her otherwise is to demean the sacrifice her animal half made to become what she is now.  And besides, Guenhwyvar has surpassed such simple bindings, she has become more than any mere wizard could have dreamed possible.  My father gave her her freedom, in a way, and while she might still be bound to her figurine, she can no longer be commanded like a mere slave, and I wouldn’t ever try anyway.  She either forges a true bond with her summoner, built on mutual respect and trust, or she doesn’t.”  Percy had a pretty good feeling he knew what happened to those foolish enough to try and force such a bond between themselves and the giant panther.

While he didn’t understand the intricacies behind the magic that allowed the panther to exist here in the first place, the results spoke for themselves.  Hesitantly reaching towards the panther’s muzzle, Giselle smiled and nodded as Percy laid his fingers on the black furry head and was relieved that she didn’t take a bite out of his hand.  “Well, whatever the nature of her origin, Guen, may I call you Guen?”  Under normal circumstances, Percy might have found it incredibly odd that he was talking to a giant panther, magically summoned or not, but this was far from normal.  On the other hand, he had a number of very strange friends he traveled with, on purpose, so ‘normal’ had left his vocabulary a long time ago.  As such, he only smiled warmly when Guenhwyvar seemed to growl softly in agreement to his question.  “I'll take that as a yes.  Guen is truly a magnificent sight to behold.”

“From someone that tinkers with machines for a living, that’s high praise indeed.”  Giselle replied, her own lips pulled up into a matching, warm copy of the one still on the gunslinger at her side.  Guen let out a bored, almost exasperated grumble, which had both of them laughing lightly at the intent behind the sound.  “Stop it you, no one asked your opinion.”  Giselle reprimanded the giant panther, the light in her brown eyes only matched by the amused smirk that was pulling at her lips.

“Since I take it flattery will get me nowhere, then perhaps plan B is in order.”  Percy quipped as he pulled a small bundle from his coat, and unwrapped the cut of beef he had saved from Grog’s apparently bottomless stomach. “Bon ap-not the fingers!”  Percy cried out as Guen gracefully snatched the meat away in the blink of an eye, without so much as ruffling his blue cufflinks of his long sleeved shirt.  He still looked at his hand, just to be sure he wasn’t missing so much as a fingernail, but when the panther gave him what he could only assume was an amused snort that came out as a short burst of hot air from her nostrils, he sighed and shook his head.  “Alright, you’ve made your point.  You’re just as bad as your friend.”

“Oh you haven’t seen anything yet.”  Giselle chuckled as she started to stand up just as Guenhwyvar instinctively moved her head off the dark elf’s lap.  Standing to her own feet, the giant panther stretched herself out like an oversized housecat before settling on all fours, the perfect representation of the panther she had once been who knew how long ago.  All feline grace, power, and elegance rolled into one, with an unmistakable intelligence in her emerald eyes that were focused on the ranger at her side.  Giselle’s hand was never far from the panther’s side as she led the way back to the doors that would lead down into the ship.  “There’s no better wake up call than having a six hundred pound panther sitting on your chest, purring in no amount of smug amusement while she’s at it.”

Percy nervously straightened his waistcoat, and made an effort to appear more nonchalant than mildly terrified.  “I think I'll skip that particular perk if you don't mind.  I find not having my lungs collapsed first thing in the morning is most agreeable.”

“Hahaha, suit yourself.  Maybe we could scare the shit out of Scanlan then?”  Guen’s green eyes noticeably got brighter, as if she were truly interested by the thought of giving the gnome a fright.

Percy once more could only shake his head at the pair.  “I’m starting to appreciate that Vex has never felt the need to be so ornery with Trinket.  You two are just downright terrifying.”  Despite his protests though, Percy couldn’t help but grin at the thought himself.  “I feel I should warn you though, Scanlan might surprise you and actually shit himself if you and your friend did just that.  He’s got….control issues.”

Guen jerked back with a huff, clearly disgusted by the idea.  Giselle blinked and looked down to Guen in sympathetic agreement.  “My thoughts exactly Guen.  Bleh, thanks for warning us Percy.  Suddenly I’m not so attracted to the idea of giving the little bard something to remember us by early one morning.”

“Oh, I'm sure Scanlan has more than likely felt the need to leave something for you, most likely on your bed.  Please don't kill him, that's all we ever ask of those he feels the need to antagonize.”

“If not for the fact I share a bed with Neria, he might have done it already if that’s the case.”  Giselle replied thoughtfully as she crossed her arms and cocked her head a little to the side.  “But I’ll promise not to kill him, but if he pushes things too far, I might be tempted to at least leave a few bruises.”

“Bruises I can handle.  It’s when permanent injury comes up that I have a problem.”  Percy held up a hand to forestall Giselle’s no doubt sarcastic reply.  “Also the random broken bone, perfectly acceptable, just not his fingers, for multiple and not all very savory reasons.”

“Take all the fun out of it.”  Giselle mock groaned but nodded, not about to push her luck more than necessary.  “Alright, I can handle those terms well enough.  Besides, I might not like bards all that much, but they have their uses, as was proven earlier this very day no less.”

“Speaking of, I never did say it, but your run up that griffon’s tail was quite impressive.”  While he’d been a bit busy fanning the hammer of his gun to notice much else, Percy had seen Giselle’s jump over the rider and the way she’d driven her sword deep into the griffon’s neck as he’d blown out the creature’s skull about the same time.  He doubted he’d ever forget that sight for as long as he lived since it had indeed been very impressive.  Grog was impressive in his own right, but his way was far more bloody and brutally straightforward rather than precise and graceful.  She had used only as much movement as had been needed to get the job done, yet had made even that much seem very awe inspiring in its own way.

“Foolish is the word I’d use, but it seemed like a good idea at the time.”  She replied, giving the man his first hint of slight embarrassment he’d seen from the Drow as her cheeks darkened a little at the admission.

“If only I had a gold coin for each time I've had the very same thought, well I suppose I could afford to take you to a fine dinner at least.”  Percy was slightly surprised when Giselle’s cheeks darkened further still as she fidgeted with a stray hair that had fallen out of place.  He raised an eyebrow at that, having not expected her to be so easily flattered, or at least affected by his attempts at such, until he remembered the treatment from Kima, and no doubt many others before her.  “You’re not used to honest compliments and flattery are you?”

“Not really, but it’s appreciated none the less, truly.”  She replied, but try as she might, Giselle couldn’t see herself dressed up with Percy on her arm, sitting in some fancy restaurant in Emon or wherever he came from originally.  It was a nice, pleasant dream, a fantasy, but that was all it would be.  It just wasn’t her, and it likely never would be, not with the curse still attached to her.  As such, the smile that had been all but stuck on her face finally faded, and she looked away, suddenly unable to meet the gray haired man’s gaze any longer.  “There’s no future with me that has a happy ending, Percival.”

Percy let her comment hang in the air for a moment while he pondered it.  “I've never been one to believe in fate or destiny, I believe we make our own fates, one choice at a time.  We are all entitled to as much happiness as anyone else in this world.”  Having forgotten about the Whisper Earring in his ear, Percy’s attention was fully focused on the dark elf in front of him.  It wasn’t often that he had a reason to focus on something so intensely, outside of his many projects, but he was determined to unravel the mysterious woman before him that just a moment ago, had been so full of life.  Yet one mention, one hint of something resembling happiness, and she closed up like a locked box.

He had part of his question answered by what she said next though.  “I already tried the domestic life, it didn’t turn out well at all.  As for making our own fates, and choices, and all that other bull, some people don’t have a choice, because it was made for them the day they were conceived.”  With that less than clear comment between them that left Percy with far more questions than satisfactory answers, Giselle walked off with Guenhwyvar in tow.  He watched as the panther paused midstep, looked over her shoulder, and gave him a strange glance before catching up with the dark elf as she disappeared into the lower decks.

“Well...that was oddly disappointing.”  He mused aloud, utterly puzzled as to what had just occurred.  It was also more than a little strange, but Percy kept that thought to himself as he wandered off, lost in his own little world.

**Meanwhile….**

Having checked on the other skell bearers shortly after the attack, as well as the container itself, Kima was still in a foul mood from the encounter with the pirates, as well as the Drow, that damnable Drow, that had pointed out the obvious between her and the halfling they had taken prisoner.  The metaphorical slap to the back of her head hadn’t been missed, oh no, it had been felt quite keenly in point of fact, and Kima had known exactly what Giselle had wanted her to realize.  That didn’t mean she liked it, of having to look in the mirror, and seeing what might have been, to see what she could have become if things had gone far differently in her life.  If she hadn’t found Bahamut’s guiding light, and hadn’t become the warrior she was now, she might have very well wound up as a mere pirate, a thief, or something worse.

But admitting that to herself would require admitting that Drow was right, and she wasn’t about to do that easily.  Because admitting that would mean she’d be forced to accept what had happened to her in the Underdark, and Kima wasn’t ready to do that either.  She was too stubborn, just like the god she served in a way, to ever admit weakness without spitting and fuming for days on end first, except when in Lady Allura’s presence anyway, but this was….beyond the wizard’s ability to truly understand.  That and Kima hadn’t wanted to worry her while she’d still been in Emon, to give her something else to concern herself with when she already had so much on her plate.

That and….it was here that the halfling sighed and put her back to the wall of her room, and felt her little legs slowly give out from under her, she didn’t want Allie to see her so marked by her time in the Underdark.  Her scars before her capture were one thing, they had been garnered from battle against monsters, bandits, necromancers, evil she could understand and had destroyed with little trouble in the past.  But a few visions of that horn, of the darkness it threatened to spill across the surface if left alone, and she had wound up captured, tortured, and had gotten her entire group of hired swords killed beforehand.  She had failed in every way but one, and while she had succeeded in claiming the horn with Vox Machina’s help, it hadn’t been without terrible cost.  Death came with the territory when one led a life like hers, when one gave themselves to their gods and tried to serve as best they could, and while her faith hadn’t been broken, despite the duergar trying to do just that for no other reason than to see her break, it had been shaken a bit.  Of course, who wouldn’t have questioned after surviving something no one else had?  After being chased through lightless, oppressive tunnels full of strange and monstrous beings at every turn, to be at the mercy of those same entities for days, weeks before a group of powerful warriors, against all odds, found her?

A gentle knock on the door had Kima looking towards the simple bolt she had slammed into place, before giving a heavy sigh and walking over to the door.  By the time she got the bolt pulled aside and got the door open however, whoever had knocked was long gone, but the strong, savory smell of recently cooked food reached her nose just as her steel toed boot nudged against a tray that had been left behind.  Looking out into the hallway, she saw just a hint of an amber colored bun as the wood elf cleric, she was fairly sure it had been her anyway, disappeared around the corner.  Sighing heavily, Kima picked up the tray, and made a mental note to thank her, when she was in a better mood, before the door was once more shut behind her, this time without the bolt slammed into place.  Which was fine by her, she didn't want to be disturbed, but there was little use of keeping a locked door with Vax running around.  Besides, knowing her luck, at which she barely managed to suppress a snort at the realization, she knew that it would only be a matter of time before something crazy happened that would turn her life upside down, yet again.

Knock.  Knock.

Or at the very least gently intrude upon her.  It seemed that no matter where she went, someone always sought to interrupt her private musings.  Most of them not nearly as welcome as her sorceress friend, but such was life when you traveled with such an….eccentric bunch as Vox Machina.  Going to her door once more, Kima pulled it open only to let out another sigh.  “I really hope there’s a good reason for this interruption since Lady Zathrial was nice enough to deliver some food that is, currently, becoming cold.”

“As if a hardass warrior such as yourself cares whether her meal is warm enough.”  Vax snarked as he cast the annoyed paladin a reassuring smile.

“I don't care, I merely prefer warm food over your company.”  Kima growled back in annoyance.  She was almost completely certain that some parts of Vox Machina sought to drive her insane.  Before she could slam the door in his face, Vax stuck his boot in the way, and while he let out a grunt as the door was slammed on his limb, the rogue remained unmoving, much to Kima’s frustration.  “What is it with everyone wanting to stick their nose in my affairs?”

“Just your natural charismatic self I suppose.”  Vax replied before breathing a little sigh of relief when Kima let go of the door.  Taking the silent invitation, he gently shut the door behind him as Kima went back to her tray of food she had left on the table in her cabin.  “I did want to talk to you however.  If that's alright?”

“Not like you're giving me much choice.”

“If it makes you feel better, I could have just picked the lock, such as it is.”  Vax deadpanned, a little smirk tugging at his lips before it disappeared just as quickly.  Taking the only chair that was left in the room, the rogue let his arms fall loosely over his chest as he leaned back, his gaze unwavering from Kima’s scarred face.  “I know we haven’t known each other all that long, outside of our shared friendship with Lady Allura, but we’ve seen some shit together, Lady Kima.  I won’t waste your time in reminding you of our latest misadventure, only that I’ll say that I get it.”  Kima raised an eyebrow and nodded for Vax to go on.  “I get why you don’t want to talk about it, of revisiting that moment when everything went to shit for you and the people you had gone down there with.  But take it from someone that knows from experience, keeping that to yourself, letting it fester until it….consumes you, until it’s all you can think about.  That is no way to live.”

Vax was glad that Lady Kima’s giant maul wasn’t within easy reach as the paladin jumped to her feet, her tray forgotten as it clattered to the floor, spilling its contents all over the deck as she stomped forward.  Despite the finger she was soon pointing in his face, Vax didn’t move a muscle.  He had stared down demons, dragons, and more, a furious halfling that came up to his waist?  He could handle the furious halfling, even though this particular halfling was pretty intimidating in her own right.  “Oh of all the low handed, vile minded trickery!  She sent you, didn't she?  Thinks the kind hearted rogue will batter down my shield with enough soft spoken advice and reassuring words.”

“I assure you that this is no trickery, Lady Kima. Believe it or not, but I am merely concerned for your well being, as your friend.  Nothing more and nothing less.” Vax replied quickly before she got the idea to hammer him out of her room. “I, no,  _ we  _ are your friends.  And none of us will think less of you, and neither will Lady Allura.”  Holding up a hand before Kima could begin to shout at him again, Vax leaned forward in the chair so that they were all but nose to nose.  “I realize I’m the last to tell a paladin on how to handle their belief to their gods, since I make it no secret I don’t put much stock in the divine, but I have seen their might through your actions, as well as Pike’s, let alone the priests of Sarenrae, just to name a few examples.  I have seen the dead brought back to life as if they were never struck down, I have seen wounds healed in the blink of an eye.  I don’t know if the gods wanted us to find you, if it was predetermined or destined or whatever, but at this point I don't care whether it was planned or not.  I am merely glad that we found you in time.”

Unable to hold his gaze any longer, Kima turned away in no small amount of shame for her most recent outburst. __ Kima wasn't sure if it was the honest look in his eyes or the sincerity of his words, but she couldn't help looking at the half elf in a new, far more understanding light.  “That was... err quite the speech. Thank you Vax.”

“Oh my gods, are you blushing?”  Vax asked as he wisely chose that moment to start going for the door.

Kima took one look at him and glared up at the smug rogue now staring down at her.  “Get out.”  She barked.

“I mean, I sort of feel honored.  Being of the non female persuasion that is.”  Vax just barely dodged the empty oil lamp aimed at his head as he gently closed the door with a satisfied laugh.

“Gah!  Would anyone else like to pander to the poor broken paladin?!”  Kima shouted before once more sliding down the wall, amidst the remnants of the meal Neria had delivered to her door.  When no one came to call for the umpteenth time that early evening, Lady Kima finally let her mask fall away, before silent tears started to roll down her scarred face.  She would have been mortified to know of the dark elf keeping an equally silent vigil in the corridor outside.

Some time passed without further incident, and night came upon the skyship, which found most of the crew and Vox Machina settling down for another evening.  Some prayed to their gods, in the case of Pike and Neria, some sharpened their weapons in contemplative or almost meditative silence, as was the case for Kima, Giselle and Grog.  The twins, while they shared a great deal, did not share much in common when it came to their nightly activities.  Vex chose to tend to her pet bear before sorting out her coin purse, as was often a habit of hers when sleep looked like it would come slowly, while Vax simply stared up at the ceiling for some time, allowing his mind to wander until he dozed off.  Others still either read in near complete darkness, or wrote little limericks and bits of song, as Percy, Tiberius, and Scanlan were.  Eventually though, they all found their beds, and sleep eventually came, some far easier for some than others.

But not all remained peacefully unaware of their surroundings.  Some dreamed of happier times, of hunting with their herd, being sung to sleep by their mother, or of finding a lost, frightened bear cub, all so long ago.  While others minds raged with dark visions of the past.  A father all but abandoning his children, an evil so horrible it consumed an entire family, leaving nothing but ruins behind, and at least two that had survived a lightning raid by various monstrous beings that had left them orphaned and alone while they were children.

Waking up in a cold sweat, Scanlan sighed and shook his head in an effort to shake off the remnants of that series of bad memories from a time long ago.  That goblin invasion had left more than a few families broken, and honestly, he’d been one of the lucky few to have gotten out of that situation with only his mother lost to the chaos those little bastards had brought with them.  He could name more than a few who had been slaughtered nearly to a man, or woman, depending on the person in question, but that didn’t make the loss any less painful to consider, or remember.  Why he was dreaming about it now though, he couldn’t say, only that Scanlan was annoyed by the interruption to his sleep.  Just as he started to pull the covers over his head though, he heard something from the room next to his, and it hadn’t come from Pike’s room.

Looking to the left wall, the bard, never known for his impulse control, decided to put his ear to the simple barrier.  He was quickly rewarded for his eavesdropping with the sound of someone softly crying out something in elvish.  It wasn’t his first language, or his second for that matter, but some words were all but universal no matter what language you happened to know, mother and father among them.  Sorrow knows no language however, and Scanlan quickly regretted his decision.  Cupping a hand over his mouth to muffle his guilt ridden gasp, he almost jumped when he heard a corresponding creak by his door.  He felt all the blood leave his face when he saw Giselle’s softly glowing amber eyes, but he recovered, slightly, when she only held up a hand and shook her head.

She wasn’t mad for his eavesdropping, which he found puzzling until she gently shut the door behind her and sighed heavily, an understanding gleam filling her night adapted eyes.  “It’s an old hurt, one you’re familiar with, otherwise you wouldn't be so ashamed.”

Given the fact she could probably see him just fine despite the fact the room was nearly pitch black, Scanlan didn’t bother trying to deny her observation.  Instead, finding some measure of his usual charm, which was without his usual barely veiled innuendo, Scanlan gestured to a nearby chair in silent invitation while he got situated on the edge of the bed.  “I-I didn't know, she hides it better than I do.  She's stronger than she let's on.”

“You have no idea, Scanlan.”  Giselle replied, and while he didn’t comment on the fact it had likely been the first time she had used his name without some measure of irritation if not outright contempt in her voice for him, he still noted her narrowed gaze. But it was a distant thought given the matter at hand as the Drow ranger sat down, looking about as old as he felt.  Wrinkles he hadn’t noticed before had set themselves deep into the dark skinned woman’s face, and while she was still quite young, by full elven standards at least, it looked to him every one of those years had settled upon her at once at some point.  Folding her hands over her lap, he waited patiently for her to say something, give him some kind of clue as to what was on her mind.  “I don’t hate you, in case you’re curious Scanlan Shorthalt.”  She said at last, after several almost awkward, uncomfortable seconds of silence had passed between them.

He nodded and crossed his arms over his chest, curiosity getting the better of him.  “Alright, I’m all ears.”

Taking the invitation for what it was, Giselle blew out a tired sigh and leaned back in the chair.  “You’re probably wondering why I’ve had nothing but nice things to say about you too though.”

“Meh, you’re not the only one that’s had nothing but fond things to say in regards to my character.”  The self deprecating humor and dry sarcasm, he could work with those.

“It’s because you remind me of myself when I was….far more naive about the ways of the world.”  She said point blank, which had Scanlan taking a mental step back since he had an exceedingly hard time imagining her with anything other than a permanent bitchface, to put it in his own words.

“I’m sorry?  You mean you actually used to smile?”  Scanlan asked, making it no secret he found that hard to believe.

“Yes, I did, surprising I know.”  Giselle retorted dryly before she crossed her arms and sighed.  “Funny how that changes when you’re not told the whole reason why a red dragon is rampaging around a city.  That the monster I was asked to hunt down to protect the innocent was the lesser of two evils, or so I found out the hard way before I met Neria.”

“Alright, I’m listening intently.”  Scanlan stated, his attention focused fully on the Drow before him.  Not that he could have looked elsewhere really since she had chosen the one spot in the room that was fully within his peripheral vision at the very least.  Before she began to speak herself though, Scanlan let a dry little laugh escape him before he said, “You know, it's ironic, before I.... lost so much, I was sort of like you are now.  Not quite as stoic mind you, but far less rambunctious and slower with a joke.  Smiling came easier in those days.  I just found it easier to push annoyingly kind people people away with vicious sarcasm and insulting humor I suppose.”

“I get it, better than you know.”  Giselle replied softly, and let her brown eyes flick down to the space between them.  “I’m sure you heard part of that little dragon hunt I was a part of way back when.”  Scanlan nodded, having heard something about it, not nearly enough, but enough from Neria from one of the others to know what she was talking about.  “Well, I learned, in my way, that not all monsters need have giant claws and teeth or be covered in diamond like scales.”

“Some are three foot tall ugly little motherfuckers who just want to watch the world burn... sorry, you were saying?”  Scanlan was reassured he hadn’t said the wrong thing with a flicker, a ghost of a smile, came and went on the ranger’s face.

“You’re not wrong there, but some people are just motivated by selfish greed and ambition.  They’re at least honest about how dishonest they are as a rule.  I was stupid, I thought the world was better than what it was, and in that I am far more alike with my father than I’d like to admit, but that’s a whole other story unto itself.”  Giselle stated and while she didn’t look back up to Scanlan’s face, he got the feeling he wasn’t missing much as her visage became impassive, neutral, utterly devoid of emotion.  It was a mask of its own though, one where she was trying to hold herself together.  “It started, as these things we do seem to always begin, with a job posting in a tavern, which I and a few of my friends at that time found.  Adventurers, fresh from the road, excited for the next day, we thought it’d be straightforward.  Kill the dragon, save the city it had been attacking, get paid, gain some respect in my case outside of my father’s shadow, kind of like Vex has acted since I’ve gotten to know you all a little.”

“Or Vax, in a slightly less greedy way, but go on.”  He did find the ‘father’s shadow’ bit of particular interest, but Scanlan didn’t ask about that just yet.  Instead he crossed his right leg over his left knee and settled in for a story he already knew had a piss poor ending.

Giselle hardly batted an eye this time, let alone let her mask slip away as she took a moment to gather her thoughts.  Old memories of friends long gone, some dead, some simply having gone their separate ways, threatened to overcome her, but a set of somewhat rapid footsteps coming from the room next door stopped Giselle in her tracks as she looked to Scanlan’s door, just as the wood elf cleric stuck her head into the room.

Neria stifled a yawn as she leaned in doorway and gazed at the odd pair of night owls.  While the gnome couldn’t see it, Giselle knew Neria was doing her best to keep any trace of her having had a nightmare again to herself even as she saw the fast fading terror in her blue eyes disappear upon seeing them.  “Giselle? Scanlan?  What are you two doing up?”  Neria asked, her gaze going from scared from waking up alone, in a strange place, after a nightmare of her own troubled past, to concerned as she flicked her blue eyes from the ranger to the bard and back again.  “What’s going on?”

“Nothing….we were just talking, Neria.  Go back to sleep, I’ll be there in a moment, alright?”  Giselle gently asked, hoping she’d go back to bed since now that she had started her story, the Drow didn’t want her to worry about her on top of whatever nightmare had woken her up in the first place.

“My what a lovely nightgown, only one way it'd look better, on the floor.” Scanlan quipped, giving Giselle a wink while Neria just sighed in annoyance.  It was a nice gown though, although to call it that would have been generous since it was all lace and see through in the best way possible, and did little to conceal much of Neria’s sun kissed, almost beautifully bronzed skin even in the darkened hallway as she was.  But even as Scanlan’s imagination ran wild with more than a few erotically charged fantasies, he kept the grin that threatened to escape him off of his face as he too addressed the cleric.  “I humbly apologize for waking you, Lady Zathrial.  We were just….reminiscing.”  He said, showing a degree of tact neither of them had expected as he avoided mentioning her terrified mutterings they had overhead, and acted the part of guilty party no less.

Neria for her part blinked, still a bit disoriented from her recent restlessness, and gave the pair one last, curious glance before gently shutting the door on her way out of the room.  Giselle, once Neria was out of sight, gave Scanlan an appreciative glance for his quick thinking in dealing with her longtime companion, even if she was also more than a little surprised by how he’d done so.  “That was a close one.”  Scanlan silently mouthed to the dark elf, chuckling to himself.

“Bards.”  Giselle muttered, but the disdain she had said the word with before was no longer present.  “Thank you for distracting her like that.  She might not be the only one that has trouble sleeping, but she has more reason than me to have sleepless nights.”

“As curious as I am about her, although I’m pretty sure I know her tale by now, I’m far more interested in this dragon hunt you were talking about.”

“Yeah, figured you would be.”  Giselle muttered, suddenly not so eager to get back on the topic they’d been discussing before Neria had walked in on them.  But seeing no way out without being incredibly rude…..ruder at least, the Drow blew out a breath and racked her brain in an effort to recall where she had left off.

Before she could begin anew though, Scanlan, recognizing the discomfort in his guest’s brown eyes, that still had that glow that marked her as having night adapted orbs, decided to give her a way out.  “You know what, I rarely say this to a beautiful woman spending the night with me, but I'm dreadfully tired.  Perhaps you could finish your tale another time?”

Giselle was at a momentary loss for words as she registered what had just come out of Scanlan’s mouth.  When it finally clicked though, the Drow ranger managed a soft, appreciative smile that did a great deal to relieve some of the weight that had been on her shoulders when she’d walked in initially.  “Perhaps I’ll follow your example, Scanlan.  Thank you for….well, just being you, even though we’ve butted heads on more than one occasion”

“You'd be shocked how many..... Okay I'll stop, just this once.  Good night Lady Do’Urden.”  Receiving a single nod in response he graced the departing dark elf with one last smile for the night. He was surprisingly grateful that she had caught him eavesdropping for otherwise he might have returned to memories long since past, though that didn't make them any less painful.  But thanks to her, he had a lot to keep his mind occupied as he tried to find his way back into restful sleep for the rest of the night.  Mainly, he couldn’t help but wonder about the rest of Giselle’s failed dragon hunt, and why it kept her up at night as it still did.  As for Neria’s story, that one was easy as he had all but said to the ranger, likely because it echoed his own in multiple ways.  He wouldn't be closing his eyes again tonight for fear of the same dreams that came to haunt him.  But he eventually did despite his best efforts, and while he was visited by goblins out for blood as they’d been when he was far younger, he couldn’t help but see a ravaging band of orcs and one seriously pissed off red dragon chasing down their two new companions.  Two companions that had somehow already found their own little niche with Percy and Grog, if not Pike as well, and now him if his talk with Giselle was anything to go by that hadn’t ended with him being flayed alive.

Giselle meanwhile found Neria had already fallen to sleep, no doubt the moment her head had hit the pillow.  Despite having just been up not five minutes ago, she had always been the first to pass out and the last to wake up, even after suffering through one of her old nightmares again.  Snuggling up against her back, as was her habit from years of traveling at her side, and like Scanlan, Giselle tried not to fall asleep for fear of similar nightmares visiting her.  But sooner or later, she lost the fight, the soft rise and fall of her friend’s chest, the quiet, creak of the ship as it continued its journey through the night sky, and the sound of her own breathing worked in concert to lull her to sleep.

Where a red dragon was waiting to bury her anew, although not before tearing out her back, leaving three, hideous claw scars across her right shoulder blade that still occasionally ached to that day.  Letting out a feral roar of futile defiance, Giselle could only wait for the beast’s massive jaw to come crashing down to viciously consume her.

However before it could do so, the image of evil incarnate was distracted by a rather unexpected shout.  “Hey!  Lizard lips!  I heard your momma was so ugly they couldn't even make a purse out of her scales.”  Looking over towards the shout that had definitely not been a part of that day’s disastrous proceedings, Giselle could only blink as she saw Scanlan with Grog, Vex, and all the rest standing at the entrance of the cave.  “Yeah, more like the only thing she was good for was giving giants a bad case of the fire crabs!”

Despite the fact she had wound up mortally injured, near death’s door that day, and the days that followed as she was carried down the mountain by the survivors of her small group of allies and friends during that time, Giselle couldn’t help but chuckle at the bard’s stream of insults that were playing out in her dream.  It was certainly a step up from the way it usually played out, needless to say, as the red dragon cocked her giant, scaly red head to the side in badly disguised confusion at this little gnome, hurling insults at her.

The dream only became more hilarious as time wore on because, having gotten to know the group as she had, Giselle’s subconscious mind couldn’t help but imagine Grog, Vex, and Vax running around the dragon’s nest, with the fire breathing lizard in hot pursuit.  What should have been terrifying though, had the Drow smiling in her sleep as Scanlan continued to rain insults at the beast, while the rest of the group dodged and danced about the increasingly infuriated giant armored lizard until eventually she just collapsed to the rock strewn ground in exhaustion.

“Yes they can be rather entertaining sometimes can't they?”  Percy asked as he knelt down by Giselle, his smile disappearing in place of giving her a pitying glance.  “It wasn't your fault you know. I'm sure if you had known the truth, things would have played out differently.”  He reassured her as he gently patted a large clutch of eggs that had appeared beside them.  “Here, here old girl, all is well, come and be with your little ones.”  Percy softly coaxed the exhausted dragon, who lumbered over and settled next to the clutch with a satisfied huff of smoke.

A happy end it seems, at least in her dreams.  She knew that real life never was this kind, at least not to her.  Still, it felt good to pretend, to allow herself to dream that all went well on that fateful day.  And so she decided that she would believe the illusion for as long as she could.  As such, even when she woke up hours later, Giselle couldn’t help but feel an unusually wide smile tugging at her lips as she stirred and looked down at Neria, relieved to see the wood elf was still sleeping peacefully, although not for long as she started to stir just as she started to slowly slide as quietly as she could out of the bed.

That smile never left her lips even when Neria sat up, one arm propped up underneath her as she blearily looked towards the ranger who was just sliding a gray, short sleeved shirt.  Neria didn’t say a word as the simple fabric covered the long, upraised scars along the dark elf’s right, muscle packed shoulder blades, too caught up in the simple fact her longtime companion was smiling as she put herself together for the day.  “What has you in such a good mood?”  Neria asked as a yawn escaped her, unable to help but be caught up in her friend’s cheer.

Looking over her shoulder just as she started to tie her hair up into another long ponytail, having since found a new cloth band in the bottom of her pack, Giselle shrugged, her hands never slowing in their current task.  “Had a good night, for once.  You’d be surprised how funny watching a certain bard hurling insults can be.”

“That sounds like an unusual dream.”  The wood elf replied with twitching lips, trying and failing to hide her amusement at the thought.  “So, did I interrupt something last night?  I'm not one to judge where anyone finds their happiness.”  Neria stated, as serious as she could manage while internally she was finding it incredibly difficult not to laugh aloud at the look that statement got out of the dark elf.

Giselle stared unblinking for a full three seconds, before the entirety of what Neria had just bluntly implied hit her like a one ton warhammer.  Neria couldn’t contain herself a moment longer as light peals of laughter escaped the wood elf just as Giselle’s dark cheeks turned several shades darker.  “That was definitely NOT what was going on last night!”  She all but shrieked, utterly mortified by the insinuation.  “Neria!”

“I know,” She snorted, giggling into her fingers as her other hand went to her stomach, “but you should have seen, ‘snort,’ the look on your face.”

“Oh you are so getting it later.”  Giselle retorted, and threw her old, dirty shirt at the still giggling wood elf.  But even as she did, the smile on the dark elf’s face, that had disappeared briefly, had returned full force.  It didn’t help her mood any when the aforementioned bard stuck his head into the room, having heard the commotion from his room.  Catching the bard’s curious glance at them, Giselle motioned to Neria for help in trying to dispel any foolish ideas of them having spent the night together.  “Scanlan, tell her nothing happened.”

But in typical Scanlan fashion, he did the exact opposite as requested.  A shit eating grin pulled at the bard’s face before he sighed, as if in fond remembrance of last night’s ‘activities’.  “We made love five times, it was truly magical.  Now if you'll excuse me, gotta have Pike take a look at my lower back.”

“See? Nothing happened.”  Giselle said not reacting to the outrageous claims made by Scanlan.  “I mean you know me, he wouldn't be able to walk if we did that.”  Neria knew, but it didn’t help her giggling fit from that morning’s all too funny conversation as she tried, and failed spectacularly, to regain some semblance of her controlled demeanor.  Instead of answering her long time friend, the wood elf fell to her side on the bed, still giggling like a loon as both hands fell to her stomach by that point, nearly bent double from Scanlan’s outrageous claims that had further flustered Giselle.  “Ugh, you’re no help at all in the morning.”  Giselle groaned, but even as she threw another shirt at her friend, the smile on her lips refused to fade.

Eventually, Neria got her giggling under control, and was soon dressed and ready for another day after her morning’s prayers.  Giselle meanwhile had since left the woman to her own devices, knowing she’d be a while, and had found the time to save the cleric some food from that morning’s breakfast.  As such, Neria found her sitting at one of the mess hall tables, between Pike and Scanlan, with Grog and Percy sitting across from her.  From the look of it, they were sharing stories over a good meal.  Neria watched on in silence for a few minutes, smiling for another reason altogether as Giselle let her guard down for the first time since meeting Vox Machina.  “So here we are, having just pissed off these giants, and Neria decides now’s the perfect time to throw a guiding bolt at the one right behind us.”

“She didn’t.” Pike cried with a knowing laugh.

“Oh she did.  So the poor giant, having been doused by lantern oil during the scuffle, went up like a fireball.  The three behind him took one look at their companion coming back the way he’d just ran up, and high tailed it, stumbling all over each other to avoid ending up being barbecued themselves.”  The round of heartfelt laughter that got out of her audience had Neria smiling fondly even if that hadn’t been one of her finer moments in her personal opinion.

“That would have been a sight to see.”  Percy mused, unable to help but chuckle at the vivid picture Giselle had painted for them.  “The last giant we came across wasn’t quite so entertaining as the ones you ran into.”  If he recalled correctly, the last giant they had seen had been in the Underdark, and they had left that one a splattered ruin when they had polymorphed the Fomorian in question into a mouse, only to summarily drop him from a very high point and letting the spell go on his way down.  As far as distractions and improvised projectiles went, the evil, cursed giant had done them a favor.  Unfortunately, the Fomorian hadn’t survived the drop, although that had probably been a good thing in hindsight, given what they had been there to destroy.

Scanlan was quick to lean forward and wave a hand at the prim and proper gunslinger.  “Go on Percival, tell her about the time you-”

“I'll just stop you right there, since that story will only end in copious amounts of humiliation.”  Percy was quick to say, not about to give Scanlan the time of day regarding whatever event he wasn’t willing to share with Giselle, and then he realized a moment later, Neria when he caught her standing against the side of the door into the mess.  “Oh, good morning.”  He hurriedly said upon seeing the wood elf’s smiling face.

“Do not mind me, I was enjoying the show.”  Neria replied, but gladly took her seat next to Scanlan.  “If we are trading humorous stories however, I have a few I could throw out there, but I am no storyteller like my friend.”

“How about the one with the twins?”  Giselle half muttered as she took a sip of coffee, a smug smirk tugging at her dark lips.

“You mean the tiefling twins you chose to rob over some petty insult?”  Neria replied without missing a beat, earning a sputter and cough from Giselle while the rest of the table leaned forward in curiosity, some far more innocent than others.

“I never stole a single thing from them!  They merely left their bag lying around and never returned for it… and it slipped my mind at the time to give it back.”  Giselle protested vehemently even though she didn't even bother to try and hide her amusement.  “It might not have been a problem if you hadn’t left them a sweaty, exhausted mess the night before.”  She muttered none too quietly, but when Neria only smiled and shrugged at the attempt to embarrass her, the Drow sighed in resignation.  “And you say I need help?”

“I had a fun time with those two, what can I say?  I am sure Sune didn’t mind their worship either.”  Neria countered, just as Keyleth and the half elven twins decided to pop up in the mess hall.  Vax and Vex looked puzzled, having only heard something about twins and sweaty exhaustion, while Keyleth felt her cheeks turning red again, having heard a little more than that.

“Wait what?  What about twins?”  Vex asked.

“You….might not want to know.  Or maybe you do?”  Keyleth stammered out, unsure if she wanted to repeat what she’d heard for her friends’ benefit or not.

“We’ll go with maybe on that then.”  Vax mused, getting the general idea well enough just from the variously amused looks he could see on his companions’ respective faces.

“I could stand to hear a bit more.”  Grog muttered through a mouthful of food.

“How your religion hasn't taken over the world yet is a mystery to me.” Giselle mumbled almost inaudibly, though the other occupants of the room still managed to hear her.

Scanlan summed up Giselle’s thoughts rather well moments later.  “Indeed my dusky skinned breakfast companion.  I'm shocked she doesn't have the entire crew kneeling before her....”


	7. Episode 1.7:  A Matter of Humility

**Author(s)’ Notes:** _  I get that Lady Kima, at least as far as Critical Role was concerned, handled her captivity and everything she endured far better than we’re portraying it, but there’s a couple of reasons for the difference.  One, CR is streamed online, and is devoted to Vox Machina’s crazy, sometimes emotional, sometimes hilarious adventures and misadventures alike, and while they’ve done some pretty dark, serious, stuff along the way, they try to keep the action moving so as not to bore anyone for too long during the slower bits.  For the sake of the show, they try to keep things interesting, so they might have not always been able to expand upon their more emotional moments, and two, Kima’s an NPC, an interesting one, but still an NPC, along with Lady Allura, her possible? girlfriend, although from what I’ve seen in regards to fanfic on a couple different sites, it seems to be a popular opinion that they are indeed a matched pair.  I got no problem with that, and honestly I think they’re pretty good together, but for the sake of the story, and because, to me, it makes sense, we’ve probably devoted a bit more time to that whole mess than some of you might like, but we feel it’s necessary since….well, what she went through was pretty horrible, needless to say.  As such, it shouldn’t be brushed under the rug, but we can get away with that since this is purely fanfiction.  Anyway, rant from us is over, promise.  Enjoy! _

**Episode 1.7:  A Matter of Humility**

The next four days passed without incident.  While some nights came easier than others, the trip was relaxing for the most part, which was well received by even the most irritable of the group as the stresses of the road slowly bled away during the journey across the Ozmit Sea.  Even Lady Kima couldn’t help but let her hair down a little, despite the presence of the dark elf onboard the vessel.  The only large hiccup that came about was when Vax thought it’d be a good idea to shave Grog’s beard off of half his face while he was asleep a day before they finally saw land once more.  Needless to say, while Grog hadn’t caught Vax in the act, he knew the moment he checked his reflection that morning who the guilty party was since this was hardly the first time Vax had pulled such a prank on the goliath.

Grog showed surprising restraint, and even more mercilessly ruthless cunning, in inviting his newfound friends in on the inevitable revenge that would be his.  Neria hadn’t been entirely enthused by the idea that was laid out in front of her, but Giselle hadn’t been so morally conflicted over the entire affair, as judging by the mischievous little smirk on her face as they met in the two elves’ room on the ship shortly after Grog had made his discovery.

“Alright, are you sure you want to leave out the rats?  Personally, I thought that was the best part.”  Giselle asked the pondering goliath for the third time.  

“Nah, Vax is terrified of those little shits, no need to traumatize him….much.”  Grog chuckled darkly as he leaned against the wall of the chamber, his massive, thick arms crossed over his broad, tattoo covered chest.  Despite the fact half of his beard, created by the magic of his belt, was missing at the current time, he was still quite the intimidating presence, or he would have been if he wasn’t currently in cahoots with the pair of elven women.

“My point exactly, I think you're going easy on him.”  Giselle stated, the mischievous smirk on her face increasing with every word.  “You’re not doing enough if he doesn’t end up shitting himself and screaming like a little girl.  No, you want to make a lasting impression, make sure he doesn’t do something so crude again.”  Having put her back to the door, Giselle was able to see both occupants of the room without having to move her head in the slightest, save to look up into the goliath’s face but even that required little movement.  That wasn’t why she had her back to the door though, and as expected, she heard the softest rustle of fabric on the other side.  The grin on her face took on a triumphant edge as she gave Grog and Neria a little nod to show someone was listening on the other side.

“Vipers!”  Neria said with a snap of her lithe fingers.  “Nothing quite says ‘don't mess with me’ like vipers in your bed sheets.”  Both Grog and Giselle gave the mild mannered cleric a surprised glance that morphed, slowly, into somewhat scared respect for the woman’s cruel imagination.  She blushed and shrugged in response at their response to her idea.  “I have entertained the thought I am ashamed to say in regards to...certain individuals that had crossed me in the past.”

Vax winced in barely contained dread, silently watching the trio through a tiny crack in the wall.  “I've really fucked myself this time.  For shit’s sake even the nice one is after my ass.”  He muttered softly under his breath, but some morbid sense of curiosity kept him in place where he was currently hiding.

“Vipers?  Yeesh, I’m tryin’ to prank him, not kill ‘em…..although it’s a tempting thought.  He fucked with my glorious beard!”  Grog growled out, having gotten the hidden message from the Drow’s glance his way.  The barbarian couldn’t help but grin in response, feeling quite smart and proud with himself in asking these two to help him get a little payback against the rogue.

“Right, right. So you're more interested in making him suffer?  Hmm, you know I  _ do  _ have this one particular talent.”  Neria waited a beat, imagining Vax leaning in closer to wherever he was hiding.  She wouldn’t have been wrong either as she finally broke her silence.  “I would have to learn the spell anew, but some of my powers are related to….the bedroom, as such, I can curse him.  Make it impossible for him to receive a climax without it being extremely painful.  He wouldn’t even know until it was too late.”

Upon hearing this, Grog instinctively, gingerly, rubbed at the crotch portion of his armor, grimacing at the very idea of suffering that kind of related magically induced agony at the moment of release.  “Fuck me!  That's downright barbaric! .... I like it, let's go with that one.”  Grog stated, his reluctance giving way to devilish glee.

“I’m all for it, but I was hoping for something a little more immediate, unless you planned to seduce him Neria?”

“I could, I do not know if I like the idea of causing such discomfort personally, but I could.”  Neria looked uncomfortable with the idea, but the little gleam in her blue eyes suggest that she would carry it out if she were pressed into service by Giselle if not Grog as well.  “You would have to owe me a pretty large favor however.”  She was quick to say, directing her comment towards the goliath who had since went back to standing with his arms over his chest.

“Oh of course.”  Grog agreed with an eager, vigorous nod of his head.

The sound of rapidly departing boot steps was met with an oddly timed shout out from Vax.  “Testing, hey Grog, it's your buddy Vax. Listen, I've been feeling just terrible about that awful little prank, and I'd like to make it up to you buddy.”

Tapping at his ear for Neria and Giselle’s benefit, Grog was quick to respond, as if they hadn’t just been planning to make the rogue’s nuts hurt.  “Oh, hi Vax, no worries buddy, as a matter of fact, I got somethin’ you'd like to hear hehe.”

“O-oh, and what's that Grog?”  Vax asked, ignoring the slight tremble in his voice as he stopped once he was sure he was out of immediate danger.

Grog had to take a moment to stifle his laughter as he imagined the look on the rogue’s face.  Once he was able to speak clearly, he gave his two new best friends a wink that….came out more as a strange eye twitch, but the intent wasn’t lost on them as he replied to Vax’s question.  “Turns out, I think Neria fancies you buddy.  Heard her gabbin’ with her badass warrior friend how she plans to make ya hers, I think she even said callin’  out the gods names and screamin’ would be involved.  Lucky little bastard!  Hehe.”

“Fuck no!  I mean, really?! Wow, that certainly is quite the bit of news...  Thanks for the head’s up, and Grog?  Still really  _ really _ sorry over that whole silly beard thing.”

“Oh it's no trouble at all, best get ready for the ride of your life Vax.  Neria’s comin’ to get ya!”  Deactivating the earring, it was all Grog could do not to laugh as loud as he could as Giselle grinned up at the barbarian while Neria just shook her head at the pair.  “HA!  Oh I love you two!”

“We have our moments.”  Giselle agreed and patted the big guy on the arm.  “Now he’ll worry, incessantly, and we won’t be doing a thing.  Sometimes the worst enemy one faces are themselves.  Rogues are paranoid by nature, so he’ll keep himself up at night, looking over his shoulder, expecting a metaphorical dagger that will never come.  All the while we just grin and smile and carry on as if nothing’s amiss, and in truth, it won’t be.  But he won’t know that.”

“I just want you to know that I do not approve of this, but the fact we actually intend to do nothing is the only reason I agreed with this at all.”  Neria replied, making it no secret to either of them that while she’d carry on the deception, she wasn’t about to do more than that.  With that in mind, she pointed a finger towards Grog.  “I was not joking when I said you would owe me a favor for this.”

“Oh lighten up NeNe, but I promise to pay up when ya come callin’.”  Neria blinked, having not expected an affectionate nickname to fall on her from the goliath of all people, but when it clicked, the cleric couldn’t help but smile appreciatively up towards the man.  Grog smirked and shrugged in response to the look his words had gotten.  “What?  It sounded better than what Scanlan thought up .... I mean probably thought up.”

“Oh too late now.  I want to hear it.“  Giselle demanded, all too eager to have something she could use to embarrass her long time friend.

Neria though only smiled and patted Grog on the side of his still beard covered face.  “I am sure it is nothing I have not heard already.  Do not listen to my friend’s attempts to embarrass me, for they won’t work.”  She was rewarded with a dark blue blush that spread over the barbarian’s face as he chuckled awkwardly and shuffled about while Giselle snorted in good natured derision at the scene playing out before her.

Deciding she had seen enough, Giselle turned to the door and pulled it open.  “Well, if we’re done here, let’s see to the fruits of our labors shall we?”  She asked although it came out partially as a statement at the same time as she started down the hall with Grog and Neria following close behind.

“Huh?  They got a garden on this ship?”  Grog asked, his unfortunately limited intelligence making it slightly difficult for him to get the reference.

Considering how clever he had acted earlier, it threw Neria off for a moment as she looked over her shoulder towards the giant warrior.  “No Grog, she means, never mind we'll just show you.”

“Okay, this is gonna be good!”  Grog declared happily, all but skipping as they made their way down to the mess hall as they’d done for the past few days on the vessel.

“Maybe a little less enthusiasm.... just be quiet Grog.”  Giselle was quick to say, and was rewarded with a look of understanding from the grey skinned giant.

“Will do.”  Grog agreed, and while it was still difficult for him to contain his glee, he was no longer skipping down the hall alongside the two elven women he had sought out that morning.

Just getting ready to sit down at one of the mess hall tables, Vex looked up and felt a suspicious frown pulling at her lips when she saw who was coming.  Her instincts immediately kicked in because the sight of a happy Grog, while not unwelcome, usually meant trouble for someone, mainly her brother.  “Ah, there's our lovely ladies.... And Grog.  Looking awfully chipper today despite your recent loss.  Have you seen my brother by any chance?”

“Uh nope, sorry Vex.”  Grog said, and scratched his head since he honestly hadn’t  _ seen  _ Vax.  He just failed to mention that he and their two new companions had likely scared him shitless was all.  “Haven’t seen him since last night.”

“ _ Right _ , well if you do be sure to let me know.  Something has gotten into Vax lately and, well he seems to be hiding a lot, even for him.”  Vex stated worriedly, never uncomfortable when her brother got more secretive than he normally was.

“More like what's he gotten into- mmmph!”  Having sat down at the table between Giselle and Neria, Grog grimaced when the Drow ranger stomped, hard, on his foot underneath the table to silence him before he said something to give their little game up.  Thankfully he got the message and quickly changed gears.  “I mean, I'm sure he'll turn up soon.”

Vex gave the trio a probing stare, but Giselle was as stony faced as ever and Neria had her customary, if curious, smile on her face as she got comfortable at the table.  “I am sure it is nothing Vex, Vax is more than capable of taking care of himself, is he not?”  She asked, further distracting the half elf in the process.

Giving up the ghost, Vex slumped on her side of the table and rested her head against the table with a groan.  “Fine….don’t tell me whatever it is you’re up to.”  She grumbled before casting a withering glare at the three mischief makers once she had picked her head back off the table.  “I should warn you, and Grog knows this, but Vax can be quite creative with his pranks.  You might wake up with all manner of trouble to worry about one morning.”

“You know, if you're so worried, why don't you just do whatever it is you do with those strange earrings, and contact your wayward brother.”  Giselle offered with a vague wave of her hand.  “Just a suggestion.”

“Would if I had one.  We travel together so it’s not a problem normally.”  Vex grunted back before leveling her gaze on Grog.  “But that’s not a bad idea, darling.”

“No problem at all, here borrow mine then.”  Grog said and pulled his Whisper Earring from his ear before giving it over to Vex.  He did give the two elves on his flanks a curious glance, expecting to be kicked underneath the table again, but when nothing happened, he breathed a little easier as their hands met in the middle.

Vex raised an eyebrow, but said nothing about the little glance she had seen Grog give Neria and Giselle as she took the earring before sticking it in place in her left ear.  “Thank... you.  How generous of you Grog, just to put my mind at ease of course.”  Vex experimentally tapped at her ear, before holding a finger over it as Grog mimed for her.  “Right, um, brother it's Vex’ahlia darling, where in the nine hells are you?”

“I’m about sister, avoiding Neria like the bloody plague.  Long story, I’ll tell you later.”  While it relieved Vex to hear her brother’s voice almost immediately, Vax’s comment had the half elven ranger giving the woman in question a curious glance as she heard her brother’s soft footsteps in the background.  “If you must know, I might have stepped in it by shaving off half of Grog’s beard, and he showed a little more cunning than usual by getting some help from our two new friends.”

“Ah, I see.  That would explain why they’ve been acting as thick as thieves this morning.”  It was Vex’s turn to stomp on Grog’s foot underneath the table as she gave a smug looking Drow a borderline murderous glare.  She relented, if only slightly, when she saw Neria looking decidedly uncomfortable, but she was still angry over the whole affair as she tapped at the earring once more.  “Well, if you plan to come down to breakfast this morning, do tell me so I can save something for you Vax.  As for Grog and his two new buddies, I’ll handle them if I have to.”

Vex found it incredibly odd by the almost horrified note in her brother’s voice that immediately followed that angry declaration from her.  “Oh you really don’t want to do that, trust me.”

“Relax Vax, I can handle myself, and why exactly are you so skittish around Neria?  The woman wouldn't hurt a fly if it landed in her soup.”  Vex’s statement was met with an embarrassed nod from the woman in question that had Giselle blowing out a resigned, exasperated breath in agreement.  “So, what’s going on brother?  What’s got you so nervous around such a sickeningly polite girl like her?”  Vex asked, more like demanded, over the Whisper Earring.  Taking her finger off the earring, Vex leaned closer to the wood elf.  “Whatever this is, I want in. He's never this nice.”

It was Neria’s turn to perk up, having not expected Vex to be eager to get in on the fun as she looked up towards Grog at her side.  “It is your call since this was your idea.”

“I don’t mind, go ahead and tell her.  I’m just enjoyin’ the show at this point.”  Grog said with a broad smile on his face.

Looking back to Vex just as Grog finished speaking, Neria blushed a little brighter as she began to reveal what it was she’d been a part of not ten minutes ago now.  “We aren't going to  _ do _ anything to your brother, just so we’re clear.  But we might have let him overhear us discussing what we  _ could _ do.  And... I might have suggested a particularly unpleasant-”

“She can curse people's naughty bits, so it hurts like a mother when ya, you know.”  Grog then proceeded to horrify the entire mess hall with his incredibly loud impression of orgasmic bliss that quickly turned to agonized flailing about.

“Okay Grog, we get the idea!”  Vex yelled aloud, and summarily began to let a stream of curses fly from her lips because nearly every of their fellow companions had decided to come in just before Neria had explained what she had suggested.

“What, really?”  Scanlan asked, having heard enough of the conversation by this point to have gotten the idea.  He too grimaced in sympathy as his imagination supplied the rest, and he found that he had a newfound, slightly terrified, respect for the now furiously blushing wood elf.  “Can I just say that I have always had a deep respect for clerics?”  He asked, and while he was utterly respectful with his question, no one was fooled as to why he had asked it.  He didn’t have anything to worry about from Neria, but no one blamed him for his erring on the side of caution anyway.

Giselle looked almost dumbfounded at the mortified wood elf, before the barest hint of a satisfied grin tugged at the corner of her mouth.  “Well, now that you know the game, what are you going to do about it?”

“Oh, well, I had planned to do nothing.  I am quite happy to let this play itself out.”  Tiberius chimed in first and foremost as he too sat down at the table.  “It is not often I hear of such a rather deviously clever ploy, no offense to the collective intelligence of those gathered here.”

“None taken Tiberius.”  Vex deadpanned before her momentary frown gave way to her grin once more.  “I’m all for keeping up the ruse though.  Oh one second, I’m sure Vax is getting frantic.”  Vex said as she quickly reactivated the earring.

“Vex, what the hells?  Why didn't you answer me?”  Vax all but growled into his earring, of which more than a few of the group were able to hear either because they had their own tuned into the conversation, or because they were eavesdropping on those that did.

As such, Vex found it a little difficult to keep a straight face as she responded to her rightfully worried brother now that she was in on the little scheme.  “Sorry darling, got distracted for a second.  I’m well aware of what’s going on now, and I understand why you’d be concerned.  Our new cleric friend is quite the scary woman... but I've spoken with her and she seems quite reasonable.”  Vex punctuated that comment with a wink to Neria, who smiled and pulled a stray hair of her amber locks back behind her sharply pointed ear as she did.

“Reasonable?!  Exactly what part of the horrors she intends to inflict on me seems reasonable?!”  Vax shrieked in retort through his earring.

“I could have turned him into a woman instead.”  Neria offered with a shrug of her shoulders.  While she wasn’t entirely sure if she actually could, having focused far more on the healing aspects of her path, she had heard of some rather potent spells that could do a number of….equally unpleasant things equal to the Cursed Orgasm spell she knew about.

Scanlan broke out into belly deep laughter at that as he almost toppled over his seat while Pike just smiled and shook her head at the scene playing out around her.

“No, he'd probably enjoy it too much.”  Vex replied, instantly discarding the idea.  “Come now brother, you can't hide on this ship forever.”

“No but I can make a pretty solid effort.  Oh look, a small island, might just tie a few dozen ropes together and take my chances with the fucking pirates.”  Vax retorted, all but ignoring the background noise of Scanlan laughing his little ass off.

“Oh calm down brother, she’s right here, her face is about as red as Keyleth’s hair right now.  I doubt you have anything to worry about.”  While Neria still didn’t look entirely comfortable with the situation despite her reluctant smile on her face, Keyleth was the one blushing brightly as she visibly struggled with the urge to laugh or cringe at where the conversation had turned.  Vex patted the poor druid on the back and gave her a reassuring smirk before turning her attention back to her brother.  “Please Vax, stay?  You know I’ll just come after you if you decide to jump ship.”

“Only if you give me your word that, gods help me.... that you'll protect me from her charms.  She's far more cunning than she appears sister.”  It would have been impossible for Vax not to hear the massive burst of laughter from the entire table, minus a mortified Neria and a sympathetically smiling Vex.

Even Keyleth couldn’t help but snicker a little good naturedly now, having relaxed amongst her good, close companions at last as she looked towards the embarrassed wood elf a few seats down from her.  “I never would have guessed you could make Vax so….uncomfortable?  I think that’s the right word.  Yeah, uncomfortable.”  She said with a firm nod of her head, confident she had gotten it right.

“Alright I think you've had you fun Grog.  Brother, listen, it was all a harmless prank, now stop being silly and show yourself.... And yes, I'll protect you from the mean, amber haired elf.”  Vex finished and gave said ‘mean amber haired’ elf a little wink to show she hadn’t meant her words in the slightest.

“You’ll forgive me if I still watch my back around her and her crazy friend…..but alright.”  Vax relented, an audible huff escaping him before he deactivated his Whisper Earring, which resulted in him missing the latest round of raucous laughs from most of the group as he made his way down to the mess hall.

Grog waited until Vax hesitantly entered the room before stage whispering to everyone around him.  “Okay nobody tell him she’s actually gonna curse his naughty bits now.”

“Grog!”  Vex yelled and stomped on his foot, again, which had the goliath pouting indignantly rather than in pain since, despite having been physically abused in that exact same fashion more than once thus far, he was quite the tough physical specimen.  As such, pain didn’t quite equal the same thing to the barbarian goliath, but Vex’s withering glare had him reeling back a little.  “Don’t torture my poor brother anymore, alright?”  She demanded once she was sure he had his full attention.

“Oh….alright, take all the fun out of it.  Just wanted to avenge my poor beard that  _ your  _ brother cut off.”  He whined in retort, but said nothing else on the matter as Vax meanwhile, made it a point to make a very wide berth around the table where Neria and Giselle resided on either side of the still pouting goliath.

“She’s not gonna bite you from back there or anything.”  Giselle droned at the rogue as he passed by.  “You obviously haven't been paying any attention if you thought she'd actually harm you.”  Giselle considered her words for a moment, before giving her friend a teasing glance before turning her brown eyes fell  on Vax once more.  “Well, not without a very good reason at least.”  She added as an afterthought, much to Neria’s embarrassed chagrin.

Vax decided to take a few more steps back, conveniently placing him by a plate of biscuits.  “Oh I know she certainly seems like the charming, innocent sort, but I’ll take my chances elsewhere, thanks.  I like my junk unmolested….outside of a few very specific situations of course.”  He couldn’t help but feel a little grin tug at his lips when his sister let out a horrified groan at his choice of words even as he pocketed a couple of the biscuits while everyone was distracted.

“Dear gods brother, I can't know that!”  Vex moaned loudly, making it no secret she hadn’t wanted to hear that.

Palming a few more biscuits while most of the group were focused on his sister, Vax looked towards Grog, Giselle, and Neria, his face perfectly neutral as he readied himself for what he was about to do by clicking his boots together.  “And as for you three....”  Biscuit shaped blades of death pelted each of them in the forehead.  “Biscuit, biscuit, biscuit. Go fuck yourselves.  Oh, and for the record, you were disturbingly convincing for a kind hearted cleric.”

Giselle was the only one of the three that saw the improvised projectile coming her way, but even she was just a hair too slow to fully avoid it as it found the mark between her eyes.  Grog and Neria were similarly unharmed, but for once, it was the cleric that lost all sense of propriety as she gave Vax a withering look that put his sister’s to shame.  Before anyone could stop her, she picked up a handful of mashed potatoes that had been on her plate, and promptly chugged them with surprising accuracy at the now no longer smug looking rogue.  “No one beans me with a biscuit and gets away with it.”  Neria declared, the anger that had etched itself into her face having given way to no small amount of satisfaction.

“Well she certainly mashed your thunder.”  Scanlan quipped, right before Vex defended her brother's honor by dumping a bowl of gravy over the gnome’s head.  Taking a moment to stick his finger into one such glob that was currently running down his face, Scanlan nodded his approval of the taste when he sucked the gravy off of his little finger even as he gave Vex a deadpan glance.  “Methinks the ranger doth protest too much, also who serves sausage gravy with mashed potatoes?”  Having said his piece, Scanlan then shrugged, gathered up a handful of the same gravy Vex had dumped on his head, and threw towards a chuckling Grog’s half bearded face.  The goliath fell silent as he ever so slowly turned his head to look at the bard.  When he saw the big man’s eyes start to glow and his face begin to twist into an all too familiar rage filled visage, Scanlan chuckled nervously and started to back away from the table, very slowly.  “E-easy Grog, no need to hurt your buddy Scanlan.”

Scanlan wisely ducked when Grog not only threw a handful of gravy, but also the gravy bowl it came in towards the bard’s head.  Unfortunately, Pike happened to be sitting next to Scanlan, so when he ducked out of the way, the cleric at his side turned towards the bowl just in time to get a face full of gravy.  When the bowl clattered to the floor, leaving Pike’s face and hair splattered in brownish orange goop, Grog felt his jaw hit the floor as he realized too late that he had hit the wrong gnome.

“Ah, fuck!  Sorry Pike.”  Grog muttered as he winced and handed the gravy coated cleric a steaming plate of mashed potatoes, with an especially guilty look.

Pike of course chose to show just how she fit in with the rest of the group, which meant that she retaliated in equal measure.  At least, it looked like she was aiming at Grog, but her chosen projectile ended up finding a new home across Keyleth, Tiberius, and Vex, in that order as the mashed potatoes she’d been handed splattered across all three of them.  Tiberius huffed and sighed at the antics of his fellows, but couldn’t help the little smirk on his face even as Keyleth let out a girly shriek at being covered in mashed up potato guts.  Vex only glared daggers at the table in general, before a mischievous grin started to appear on her face.  “Well, I guess this means war.  Brother?”

“Oh shit, what the fuck have I started. .. Not the face please.”  Vax sighed as Keyleth used a bowl of berries, with gleeful abandon, to give him an impromptu makeover.

Flipping the table with an almost casual push from his big, burly arms, Grog had a makeshift barrier between himself and half the room while Vax, Vex, Keyleth, and Tiberius soon had the other half of room to themselves and were quick to follow Grog’s example by flipping the other table onto side.

“I feel like things just escalated.”  Neria muttered and ducked some food that was thrown roughly in her direction.  To be fair, no one aimed too carefully at the moment, they all just threw food around, hoping to hit as many people as possible.  She gave a yelp and ducked when Percy gave her an apologetic look just before a handful of strawberries rained down around her position behind the table.

Giselle just shrugged as she caught another biscuit that had been thrown over the table by Vax, and quickly flung it back towards Tiberius.  “Technically Vax started it by throwing those damned biscuits.”  She retorted, only to hear a wet plop as a mushy potato glob hit Neria right on the side of her head from Vex when she ducked to avoid that same attack.  Grimacing sheepishly at the unamused cleric, Giselle shrugged her shoulders again.

“WHAT IN THE MOTHER FUCKING HELLS HAVE YOU DONE TO MY MESS?!”  Captain Damon roared, his voice cutting through the laughter and yelps as surely as a lightning strike, making everyone stop mid throw.

“What's it look like?  I’m winning!” Grog declared exuberantly, ignoring the fact that no one else had been hit as often as himself.

“Well then, carry on. And when you're done....”  Damon’s face became hard as rock, and even Grog knew there would be seven different kinds of Hell to pay if they didn’t follow his order to the letter as he growled, “Clean. Up. This. Mess.”  Having made his intentions known, Damon groaned and slapped a hand onto his forehead, all the while muttering, “just one more day.  Just one more day and they’re gone. Our gods damn new swabby is less trouble.  Uggghhhh….never thought I’d be so happy to be in Vasselheim again.”

Once Damon had wandered off, still muttering to himself with every step, the uneasy silence that had fallen was finally broken.  “You heard the man,” Tiberius said with an embarrassed harrumph before he cast Prestidigitation to clean up the majority of the splattered food globs that were all about the room and on most of his allies.  Only Giselle seemed to be completely immaculate, although how she had managed that the sorcerer had no idea as little dust tornado like magical emanations sprung up all over the room, completely dissolving the mess down to far more manageable levels.  There was still a mess, but now it was limited to small areas of the mess hall, not counting the flipped over tables at least, and those were quickly sorted out when Grog turned each one back onto its appropriate side.

“I would have won.” Grog said with a surprisingly adorable pout, well adorable for goliath standards, other species… not so much.  When Pike laughed and smiled up at him, Grog blushed and gave his long time friend a sheepish grin before seeing Lady Kima give the destroyed mess hall one look, and promptly turned on her heel with a suppressed snort of amusement of her own escaping her lips.

It took the better part of an hour to clean up after themselves, both the mess and themselves, but between the warm laughs, hearty, companionably slaps on the backs or shoulders of their fellows, Giselle and Neria couldn’t help but share the mutual opinion that despite their initial hesitance in joining up with Vox Machina, they were quickly becoming quite fond of the group.  Crazy and unusual as they were, they still had an unique charm and a feeling of familiarity that all other adventuring groups they had come across lacked.  These people were family, and while most of them weren’t related or similar to each other in the slightest, that didn’t matter to them since they were still, in the truest sense of the word, family to each other.  They’d do all they could to protect each other, to see each other succeed, to thrive, and maybe find a bit of happiness along the way.

Regardless of what would happen in the future, Neria knew that they’d always be happy to have met these truly special people, although perhaps not so much in the case of Lady Kima since she  _ had  _ tried to kill Giselle, but maybe they would even call her friend in time.  Whatever the case, the day slowly wound down to a close, and with a few more applications of Prestidigitation thanks to Tiberius, the group started to find their way to their rooms for the evening.  So when Neria felt a couple of eyes on her on her way back to her chambers and saw Lady Kima hesitantly looking her way, the wood elf turned to Giselle who had already started to get ready for the night, and gently shut the door between them.  Turning to the halfling, Neria took a breath and started towards Kima, curious to hear what she had to say.

“You aren't boring, I'll give ya that much.  Almost sorry I missed all the fun.  But we paladins are above such foolishness.  ..... Most of the time.”  Kima finished and felt a sheepish little smile tug at her face, which widened a little when Neria returned the gesture with a shake of her head.

“Of course you are, most paladins I’ve met had a stick so far up their ass that-”

“Giselle!”  Neria interrupted her friend’s rant with a hiss and sent her a warning look when the ranger stuck her head out of their room.  There was no need to antagonize the halfling paladin at the moment.

“This is usually the part where I make myself scarce anyway.”  Giselle muttered as she quickly shut the door.

However, Neria still felt a resigned, slightly annoyed sigh as she turned to Kima.  “My apologies for my friend.”

“No, she is right to be a bit miffed with me, and paladins in general.  I imagine people like us don’t really give her the time of day before jumping to the worst conclusions.”  That put Neria off her step a bit since she hadn’t expected an apology from Kima, even if it didn’t seem that way from the surface.  The halfling shrugged her small shoulders and crossed her arms across her armored chest, before her head fell so that she was looking at the floor between them.  “As much as I wanted to believe I was right about her, I am not too proud to admit my mistakes.”  When Kima started to walk away, Neria stopped her with a gentle hand on the bottom of her chin, before gently pushing the halfling’s head back so they were staring into the other’s face.

“I feel I must apologize as well, for acting so poorly the last time we spoke privately.  Like you, I am not too proud to admit to my own shortcomings.”  Neria replied, her hand falling away from Kima’s face.  “I can rationalize it however I like, but that does not excuse me.”

“You know… for a zealous miniature paladin with a chip on your shoulder, you aren't too bad, I guess.” Giselle shouted through the closed door, though her voice sounded muffled as if she was speaking through a cushion.   


“And I guess you aren't too bad for a corrupted underdark elf.” Kima shouted back at the door, a fire dancing in her eyes. Apparently she wasn't too happy about the miniature remark. “And  _ nothing _ is going to happen... like  _ that _ !”  Kima yelled, adding that little afterthought with a deep blush coloring her cheeks.

“See, you are almost friends already.”  Neria replied, a light giggle escaping her before she put a hand on Kima’s shoulder.  “And as I said before, nothing will happen that you do not wish to happen.  If you wish to simply talk, then I am here.  If you wish for something more, I’m more than agreeable in most circumstances.”

“Th-thank you, but….I think talking will suffice.”  Neria nodded, having expected as much, and not just because of the fact that Kima was scarred in more ways than one.  She guessed only one other person ever got the honor of seeing her without her armor, literal and otherwise, which oddly enough didn’t make the cleric jealous in the slightest for something she didn’t have but wanted in her own right.  As such, when Kima silently beckoned her to follow her to her room once more, Neria was able to do so without a little, nagging part of her mind reminding her incessantly that she and Giselle didn’t share the same level of intimacy Kima and Allura likely shared when no one was looking.  “Well, here we are... again.”  Kima said as she awkwardly gestured to her room while Neria took the same seat she’d taken the first time she’d visited her at the start of their journey.  Which left Kima sitting down on the bed with a nervous shuffle of her booted feet.

“Indeed, here we are again, Lady Kima.”  Neria agreed, hoping to set the paladin at ease now that they weren’t nearly so ready to tear the other’s head from their shoulders, unlike last time they had talked like this.  That did bring to mind something however, something Giselle had told her shortly after their sparring match that had turned into an unexpected pirate attack, and Neria decided to take the chance.  “I do not mean to be indelicate, but I was told that evening, after the pirate attack, Vax visited you.”  When Kima jerked her head upwards only to let it fall almost as quickly with a little nod, Neria knew she had chosen correctly.  “He was worried.”  She stated rather than asked.

“Yeah….he was.  And he had every right to be, although I had some harsh things to say about it at the time.”  Kima admitted softly before hesitantly looking up towards Neria’s beautiful face.  “I don't do weakness well, and….after being confronted with so many things that had left me a bit shaken, with the halfling, with your friend, who I still do not fully trust but I’m not about to hurt her….anymore, Vax’s intrusion was the last straw at the time.”

“It is not unusual at all for those who have suffered to wish to continue suffering in silence, rather than seek help.  You were just not ready at the time to listen.”  Neria chose that moment to look down at her left hand, her eyes distant and unfocused for a reason Kima couldn’t begin to guess why.  “I understand that feeling.”  She muttered, her voice barely above a whisper before her blue eyes returned to their earlier brightness and vibrancy as she looked up once more.  Deciding she had kept everyone, barring Giselle, in the dark long enough, Neria took a steadying breath before beginning a tale she had thus far kept solely to herself.  “...When I was young my village was attacked, no one was spared.  I watched as fathers, sons, and brothers were mercilessly slaughtered, while mothers, daughters, and sisters faced far worse than a quick death.  I only escaped because my mother got me out, she sacrificed herself to ensure I lived, while the orcs that had swept down on our clan went about their bloody work.”

“I’m so sorry.”  Kima quietly told the weeping elf as tears began to roll down her face, not knowing what else she could possibly say to assuage Neria’s profound grief.

“I wish I could say that it is an old wound, and while it is old, it never stops hurting.”  The wood elf said bitterly and closed her eyes, but that hardly slowed down the tears that still found a way to fall.  “I cannot even look at something even roughly resembling an orc without getting flashbacks.  I can….at least  _ talk  _ to half orcs, but even that is a trial on a good day.”  Neria vigorously wiped at her eyes in a futile effort to erase the evidence of her tears, which refused to stop now that dam had been broken, and eventually gave it up for a lost cause.  Instead she went back to why she had brought up her story in the first place.  “What I...was trying to say, is that I understand, because I’ve been there.  I am still there, and I am not at all surprised….that you are still enduring the same.”

“I can see why you devoted your life to helping others deal with pain, physical or not.  You truly do understand.”  Kima all but whispered as she started to wrap an armored hand over her pendant around her neck, before stopping herself and instead reaching for the bindings holding her heavy, steel and silver chestplate together.  With a muttered curse, the halfling reached back behind her with both hands to start undoing the straps and bindings holding her armor together before pieces began flying in almost every direction, leaving her in a simple leather shirt and a pair of equally thin, leather breeches.

“Oh... I see, um, you've changed your mind.”  Neria said with the slightest bit of disappointment in her voice.

“No, I actually haven’t.”  Kima replied with a shake of her head, and pulled her simple shirt up and turning around so that the wood elf could see her bare back.  Neria had expected scars, but the sheer number of them just on the halfling’s back alone was….astonishing.  She couldn’t see a single inch of the muscular woman’s skin that didn’t have a scarred cut left from the duergar that had had their hands on her for weeks before Vox Machina had found her.  When she caught herself about to run her fingers along Kima’s back, Neria stopped herself when the paladin flinched and tensed up, and so she quickly pulled her slender hand away.  Pulling the shirt back down, Kima didn’t turn back to face Neria, not that she blamed her, her own voice thick with unshed tears.  “I haven’t been able to look in the mirror…..since I got back.  I’ve been scarred before, I’ve seen fighting many times, but this is….different.  I was proud of those scars.  I'm not proud of these.”  Kima softly told her as she gestured to her back.  “The front is no better….but the strange thing is, it’s not for me I care so damned much, but….but-”

“But what Allura will think.”  Neria finished for her, to which Kima only nodded, her back still to the cleric.  She only reacted when she felt the bed shift, and soon felt a soft, tender caress run along her covered back.  While she tensed up and almost jumped away from Neria, Kima forced herself to stay.  “You care about her.”  Kima only nodded again, unable to speak.  “Would it be safe to say you love her?”

“Y-yes.”  The halfling managed to choke out, and slowly began to relax as Neria’s soft touch against her back.  There was nothing sexual about the touch, no romantic overtures of any sort, she was simply touching her cloth covered back, nothing more.  It might not have seen like much to an outside observer, but to Kima, she was quite thankful for the woman’s gentle caresses that were equal parts relaxing to the tension filled halfling, and a silent acknowledgement she was still worthy of another’s touch at all.

Neria chose her next words with the utmost care as she continued to touch Kima with the tenderness of a mother tending to her child after a horrible nightmare, her voice whisper soft yet more than loud enough for the woman in front of her to hear every word.  “Then you have no reason to be ashamed, these scars show what you have endured in your time as a warrior.  And I think that Lady Allura admires you for your strength to endure these hardships, rather than to look upon them in disgust.  She asked me to help you after all, knowing full well the hardships you had endured, or rather, she understood them enough to take steps by asking me to do what I could for you.”

Kima couldn't stop the snort of choked laughter that escaped her at the thought.  “That's Lura alright, she always knows me better than I know myself.”  Finally looking over her shoulder at Neria, Kima reached around and gently pulled her hand off her back and set it on the bed.  “Th-thank you, but I….think I’ll just be happy to get some sleep if it’s all the same to you.”

“Alright.  Sleep well Ki-”  Neria started to get to her feet, but the hand still gently wrapped around hers tightened its grip, and the wood elf looked down before her eyes flicked to Kima in mild bewilderment.

“Where are you going?”  Kima asked with a hint of a grin. “You think I'd pass up a golden opportunity to drive your friend nuts?”  Despite having just shed more than a few tears with an almost equally troubled halfling, Neria couldn’t help but feel her lips pull up into a mischievous smile at what Kima was insinuating. “And, maybe I just don't want to be alone.”  Kima quietly added, averting her gaze at that slightly ashamed bit of honesty.

“I suppose not.” Neria admitted with a small chuckle and shook her head.  “Alright, if it helps you, then who am I to argue?”  She didn’t directly comment on Kima’s almost whispered request for someone to keep her company throughout the night, choosing instead to act the part of co-conspirator in a mutual desire to have a bit of fun at Giselle’s expense.  Kima had come a long way, so Neria was content to keep up the act for her sake even if the truth was known only to them.  Instead, the wood elf cleric nodded solemnly as she sat back down next to Kima and gently brushed aside some of the woman’s red, messy locks off of her scarred face.  “I can’t say that it’ll ever get completely better, Kima, but it does get easier to bear.”

“Sp-speaking from experience?”  Kima asked, but she already knew the answer.  Even a blind person could have seen the way the dark elf hovered protectively about the beautiful cleric currently in her bed.

“Yes, unfortunately.”  Neria admitted quietly and closed her eyes. “It takes time, patience and friends, but it  _ is  _ possible.  For now though… let's concentrate on sleeping, and when we wake up, we’ll almost be in Vasselheim.”  Kima nodded and surprised Neria when she threw her small arms tightly around her neck, burying her head against the cleric’s shoulder before she remembered herself and pulled away with a little yelp and a bright tint coloring her cheeks once more.  Neria chuckled warmly but smiled endearingly down towards the paladin before gesturing towards the bed that would just be big enough for them both to share with some comfort.

Just as they had laid down, with Neria’s back against the wall and one arm draped almost protectively around Kima’s waist, the blankets pulled up to the halfling’s neck, the cleric saw a pair of brown eyes in between the ever so slightly open door and the frame.  She nodded to the dark elf, which was more than enough for Giselle to take her meaning and disappear just as quickly without a word.  Kima remained completely unaware of this, having already fallen into peaceful sleep for the first time in what likely felt like months for her.

A few miles from Vasselheim, on the continent of Isilra

A dark hand casually tapped against a leather holster, impatient as it was callused. “You certain that we ain’t wastin’ our time?”  The half orc, dusky skinned, large and muscular just like most of his kind, yet with sharply pointed ears and an unmistakable gleam in his piercing gray eyes that marked him as something more, asked his companion and shrugged his shoulders once to get his duster into a more comfortable position.  Slightly curved tusks jutted from both sides of the orc’s mouth, and a well kept thick mane of silver hair adorned his head, yet another odd trait for his kind.

Having rode up to the borders of the ancient bastion of human civilization, with its gigantic, thick stone high walls, covered in dragon headed ballistae and manned with dozens of guards at any given time, the half orc knew when to shut up and just follow his companion when he had one of his many visions and started spouting some crazy nonsense and such prophecy or another.  But the imposing, militaristic stronghold was beginning to make him have second, third, and fourth thoughts about their latest venture.  It was well known by all who planned to visit Vasselheim that there was no way to enter the city except by foot, since it was considered a religious pilgrimage given the dozens of temples and holy sites dedicated to almost every goodly god and goddess in existence, and while the city was also devoted to a massive cobalt mining complex from the mountain the fortress itself was a part of, most of the city’s occupants that remained didn’t stick around because this place was comfortable or particularly inviting.  They chose to stay because they were too stubborn to leave.

“Yes, those under the banner of the speaking machine should arrive soon. We must make haste if we wish to arrive before them.”  His companion replied quietly, voice barely above a whisper.  The man shifted slightly in the saddle of his horse, black armor clad every inch of his body and seemed to soak up all of the early morning light that fell upon it.  In stark contrast to that was his spear which he held in his right hand, it shone with a white light, like a single beam of moonlight given the form of a weapon.  Other than that, he carried a shield with him, and a sword both the same color as his armor.  As were the feathers on the sides of his elaborate helmet. “You know I would not bother you were it not important. I know you have your own mission to fulfil.”

“Meh, it can wait.  ‘Sides Fenix, you haven’t been wrong before, except when you lost me a fair bit of coin during that little gambling run in Emon a few years back.”  The half orc chuckled wryly as he felt rather than saw his heavily armored friend’s slightly annoyed glare on his back at the reminder.

“I am honoured by your trust in my capabilities, I will do my best not to disappoint.” The newly identified Fenix replied and lowered his head for a moment. “That said… if you ever find those you seek, call me for as long as you need me.  On that day, I shall not fight for prophecy but as a friend, as you have done for me many times before during our time together.”

“I know ya'll will, but till then, best we don't count our chicks ‘fore they hatch. We still gotta get the horn first don't ya think?”

“Indeed Malvos.”  The black knight agreed and gently nudged his horse forward, deeper into the almost primordial forest that stretched out in every direction.  Everything on this side of the Ozmit Sea was bigger though, so the fact that their surroundings were equally imposing wasn’t all that surprising, but they had far bigger things on their minds than the sights.

“Just for my own peace of mind, why exactly can't we just let the silver bellies deal with this whole damn mess again?”  Malvus asked as his gray eyes fell on a flicker of movement, a giant snake like head sticking up above the tree line before it disappeared just as quickly.  His hand instinctively fell to the holster on his left hip, but when he saw no further movement, he relaxed, albeit only a little.  Hydras and other giant beasts were pretty common around the city of Vasselheim, and with an entire guild dedicating to hunting down such creatures, business was pretty good for those that were able to survive the ordeals of hunting down the marked targets and bringing back their corpses in exchange for the bounties.

“If it were possible we would not be here. I am not certain what exactly happened, but the prophecy spoke of temple walls running thick with blood.”  Fenix replied and looked around, the warrior didn't trust the sudden stillness that had fallen over them.

“And a speakin' machine needs help our help huh?  Beside the fact I have not the slightest idea what that means, it’s awfully vague if ask me, which ya didn't.”  Malvus replied, having grown used to the vague bits of foresight his friend was prone to spout out, sometimes at the worst times possible.  Yet Fenix had never failed him when it mattered, and traveling with a man that had reliable visions as regularly as he did meant life was never boring.

“It's a prophecy Malvos, they are always vague.” The knight replied with some humor creeping into his quiet voice.  “I am certain that we will recognize them once we see them, two others were mentioned that travel with them.  A child of the woods and sorrow, and the other the flesh of Daermon N'a'shezbaernon.  The first is easy enough, but the second I cannot say, not without more to act upon.”

“Ah, right.  Explains everythin’.  Well, guess we’ll find out soon enough I ‘spose.”  The half orc gunslinger paused for a moment and grinned towards his truly strange friend.  “That certainly does sound like a fancy Drow name.... reckon I might bed some fine noble like lady?”  Malvos said with a shrug of his broad shoulders as he too gently nudged his horse along at a swifter pace.  Just because he was willing to go along with Fenix’s latest gods given quest, didn’t mean he couldn’t poke fun at him a little.  “So….whatcha ya reckon our chances are of endin’ this little trip at the nearest tavern once all’s said and done?”

“In this case, I doubt it my friend.  And if by tavern you mean the nearest house of ill repute, then I am certain you will find your way there somehow.”  The armored human shot back with a barely audible chuckle. “Knowing you, it could very well be that I find you in the arms of a lady of pleasure  _ before  _ the end of our little trip.”

“And you didn’t even need another vision to see that.”  Malvos chuckled in turn, and gave his friend a broad, toothy grin as they made their way towards Vasslheim’s main city gates.  While he did his best to ignore the sound of the old, wrought iron gates as a number of gears ground and screeched slowly pulled them open to allow them inside, Malvos couldn’t help but hear the sound of horrendous screaming in place of the screech.  And with how his friend believed in his visions and signs that he regularly saw, regardless if he wanted to or not, the half orc couldn’t help but wonder if this would end as it normally did.  With more than a few heads leaving their shoulders.


	8. Episode 1.8:  Bane of Vasselheim

**Episode 1.8:  Bane of Vasselheim.**

Riding through the gates side by side, Malvos couldn’t help but look up, and up, towards the massive fortress’s inner walls that loomed over the city, as well as the mountain further behind that jutted up towards the heavens, leaving most of Vasselheim in its shadow.  To say he felt quite small and insignificant wouldn’t have been a far stretch, as he looked towards his heavily armored friend.  “What say you and me forget all this suicidal like nonsense and go get drunk? Or laid.  Or preferably both.”

“If you wish to do so, go ahead.  As for me… such things are not for me.” Fenix replied, his voice as quiet as ever. His tone and gaze, while largely obscured by the massive, feathered helmet he wore, held no judgment as he regarded his friend.  “Perhaps it would be better for one of us to head back regardless, we can't see much from out here.  No need to waste both our times.”

“Nah, can't abandon ya like that.” Malvos said with a grinning shrug. “Never woulda stuck around if I listened to that little annoying voice in my head, screaming at me to run far, far away.”

“You wouldn't abandon me anyway.  Just taking a break from staring at stone walls.”  His friend shot back and lowered his head in a show of respect. “You did more than I or anyone had the right to ask of you over the years. You are… actually the only person I would call friend.  So please, do your friend a favour and relax.”

“Right, as if anyone in this Fortress of Puritan Solitude knows what that word means.”  Malvos scoffed, waving his arms at the dour looking pedestrians around them.  He had a point, given the very nature of Vasselheim and its residents, and while he knew certain sections of the city was a little more rowdier than others, by and large, it was a religious center, and as such most folk that lived here treated the very air as if it were sacred.  And in some ways, it was just that, depending on where you happened to be.

“Point made, point take.”  The knight was forced to admit with a small shrug.  “On the other hand perhaps you’ll find some priestess of some kind of pleasure cult, who knows?”

“Sure, and next you'll me that Sacred Prostitutes are real.”  Malvos shot back without missing a beat.

“Who kn-” Fenix began only to be cut of by Malvos with a glare and sharp hand gesture.

“You aren't meant to answer that.  A man has a right to dream don't he?  Even if it did happen to be a fever dream.... drinkin’ that fermented cactus juice probably wasn't my best day ever.”  Malvos admitted and rubbed the back of his silver haired head in embarrassment, his dusky gray cheeks turning several shades darker as that particular set of….hazy memories played themselves out behind his eyes.

“Please… don't remind me. I imagined giant talking mushrooms.” The black clad man muttered, embarrassed in turn. The few clear memories he had of that unfortunate episode were more than enough to make him very embarrassed, needless to say.

“At least ya didn't wake up next to a goat.... You didn't hear that.”  Malvos rapidly added with a deadly grey glare.

Fenix held up his hands in a peacekeeping effort, not about to poke his half orcish friend on the matter since he had his own reasons not to spend too much time dwelling over what had happened that….rather eventful day.  “I don't remember that part… to be honest I don't remember much. I drank the juice, talked to some mushrooms, and next thing I knew I was standing in the middle of nowhere, wondering where the hells my clothes were.”  Fenix muttered quietly, apparently so deep in thought that he forgot that his friend could hear every embarrassing little word.

“Good times.” Malvos said nodding to himself.  “Well, best we ought to find a place to stay the night I reckon. If you're so keen on bushwackin’ this speakin’ machine, probably best to get some rest ‘fore the imminent violence starts up again.”

“True enough, they should arrive soon.  And given the state of things I doubt that things will be easy, we will need to be ready when facing them.”  His friend declared seriously and rubbed the ‘chin’ of his helmet in thought.

“So, remind me again, how many in their party?  Four, five right?”  The half orc asked and yawed exaggeratedly, which caused pretty much all who were looking at him at that moment to stare at his tusks.

“Eleven actually, if my visions were correct.”  Fenix answered without batting an eye at his friend’s antics.

“Only eleven huh?  Gee, and here I thought I should be worried.”  Malvos retorted with just a hint of mocking detectable as he rolled his eyes.

“We’ll see.  Perhaps things will go smooth for once.”  The knight replied with a small shrug, though his friend knew what it truly meant.  His friend didn't truly believe what he had said, and if he were being honest, neither did Fenix himself.

“But ya don't believe that anymore n’ I do.” The orcish gunslinger observed heavily.

“No I don't, because when has destiny ever been so kind?”  Fenix asked rhetorically and with just the slightest hint of bitterness present in his quiet voice. “And secondly… the prophecies I see or hear… they always come true, perhaps not in the way one would expect, but after they are completed they always make sense and even seem ridiculously easy to figure out.”

“After the fact.  It's the whole mystery n’ doom beforehand that I find mildly annoyin’ slash terrifyin’.” Malvos pointed out with a sigh.  He pitied his friend for the visions he saw because the prophecies he received had never once been pleasant for as long as he had known him.

“I figure it's one way of ensuring my, or in this case, our, attention.” The black armored knight replied dryly, but some gloom was still present in his ever quiet voice.

But when Malvos slapped a heavy hand on his back, Fenix looked up only to look where the half orc was pointing.  There, hovering in the distance, was a beautifully crafted skyship, heading right for Vasselheim’s emergency support.  Well, it was normally used for emergencies anyway, but given the sedate way the skyship was heading to the docks on the upper reaches of the city, Malvos figured there wasn’t any rush on their part to meet the ‘speaking machine’ in question.  That said, that didn’t stop Malvos from looking at the three arcane crystals that empowered the vessel, the ease at which it soared through the lightly clouded sky, in no small amount of awe and intense yearning present in his gray eyes.  “Well ain't that a serene sight.  One day my friend, one day you and I are going to call one of those home.  Even let ya be my firstmate.  Get us a fine crew, maybe do a little smugglin’ on the side, yup, paradise my friend.”  Malvos quietly mused, lost in thought.

Fenix couldn’t help but smile at his friend’s remark even as his own eyes fell on the ship with its golden elven script that ran down its side.  It truly was a beautiful vessel, and he could see the appeal of the life his friend was proposing.  That didn’t stop Fenix from poking him a little bit though, in good natured fun of course.  “If I were to guess, we would most likely be the only males among the crew aboard the good ship Debauchery?”

“It would have another name of course, but what's wrong with a more appropriate crew?  Don't want folk to think that I am discriminatin’ against against women.  Especially strong willed, foul mouthed women.”  Malvos said, a playful grin all but spreading across his entire face as they made their way through the muddy streets and byways of the imposing city.  For a fortress that had such high walls and such fine temples, the streets were rather… simple.  Hardly more than muddy stretches that led the way between the buildings.

Fenix could only shake his head and smile a little wider in retort at the vivid picture his friend had painted.  It was a nice dream, one he would fully support his companion in pursuing, but that kind of life wasn’t meant for him.  Not that he ever told his friend that, there were things that were better left unsaid.  Perhaps one day… but for now he said nothing, content to simply enjoy the moment.  “Despite what I might say to the contrary, it is something I’d enjoy seeing come to pass, Malvos.  You deserve the chance to be truly free, and find your own happiness in such an endeavor.”

“So I'll take that as a yes then.”  Malvos continued, completely unaware of where Fenix’s mind had gone.  “Might just have to get ya a jaunty lil cap while I'm at it.  Ladies love a fella in uniform, or so I been told.”

In reply Fenix chuckled softly and slapped his friend on the shoulder with a small smile, although he never gave him an answer.  He was glad when Malvos didn't seem to notice. He would have to ensure that his friend would have something to remember him by when his time was up.  But that day was still a long ways yet, and there was no guarantee that….event, would come to pass at all, although with the number of visions he’d had of that particular day suggested that there was a strong possibility of it happening, unless certain things were done first before it was too late.  But that was for tomorrow, so he resolved to spend the time he was given in the present.

“Hey, look at that, fried chicken stand, this place might not be so gods awful after all.  Come on, you're buyin’, I treated last time.”

Fenix sent a subtle glance at his friend and couldn't help but smile at his joy for such a simple thing.  As such, he sometimes envied his friend’s far more optimistic disposition.  “Sure, thing Malvos. So one or two buckets for you?”

“I’m a big, handsome guy, ‘course I’m wantin’ two.”  Malvos chuckled in retort even as he couldn’t help but lick his chops as the rich, savory smell of the finely cooked chicken filled the air around them.  He patted his stomach for emphasis before hopping off of his horse.  “‘Sides, it’s either the chicken or the horse, and I happen to like the horse.  Ain't that right Spirit?”  Malvos laughed as the stallion neighed loudly in apparent agreement.  Fenix only smiled and shook his head before following Malvos’s example towards the fried chicken vendor.

**Vasselheim Skydock**

While Kima’s nervousness and anticipation both, which was due to her having not seen those of her temple for quite some time, was hard not to miss, it was Keyleth’s little admission as the skyship made its final approach to the city of Vasselheim that had most of Vox Machina’s undivided attention that early morning.

“I am relieved that we are finally here. This accursed horn has brought us more than enough grief already.” Tiberius remarked as he gazed upon the city below them.

“True, but it’s also brought us a few new friends.”  Keyleth replied, and nodded to Giselle and Neria as they made their way to their collective sides on the ship’s uppermost deck.  A slightly worried, almost shy gleam filled the druid’s eyes though as she hesitantly spoke anew, “that….actually brings up something I need to do while we’re here guys.”

“Ah, lady stuff. We understand.”  Scanlan offered with a raised eyebrow.

“What?  No.  I was referring to my Aramente.”  Keyleth was quick to say, both to get the conversation back on track before she lost what courage she had, and to keep Scanlan or Grog from taking such an innocent topic into obscene territory before she knew what had happened….again.

“Oh, you talked about that a few nights ago.”  Pike recalled as Neria nodded, both clerics remembering that conversation well.  “Are one of the tribes near here then?”

“Last I heard they lived up by Pyrah, if not on the dormant volcano itself, but yeah.  It wouldn’t be too far out of our way, but if all goes well, I’ll be given more knowledge, to better prepare myself for the task of leadership.”  Keyleth stated, yet something in her voice had a couple of her close friends wondering what she was holding back.  Something was wrong though, that much they knew.

“I know I'd follow you anywhere.”  Scanlan quipped, at least leaving out the implied ‘nice view’ this time. “We've got your back Keyleth.  Just to ask, but what should we expect when we get there?  The tribes are all friendly with each other right?”

“Yeah.”  Keyleth replied confidently, probably the most confident they had heard her in some time.  But just as quickly it disappeared, and she returned to being shy and uncertain.  “It’s simply my job to just kinda touch base, to check in and reestablish our ties with each other, while learning what I can from each of our sister tribes along the way.”

“A quest for knowledge, and an arduous trial to prove your right to rule your people.”  Giselle summarized with a nod of respect to the otherwise naive and awkward druid.  “I am correct in assuming it’s not just knowledge you'll be getting if all goes well.”

“As far as I know, yeah.  Since the Fire Ashari live near a portal to the Elemental Plane of Fire, I think it’s safe to assume they’re pretty well versed in fire manipulation magics.”  Keyleth replied with a nod of her head.

“You mean you might get to actually burn stuff?”  Grog asked, perking up at that bit of news.  “Our own little firebug!  I like it!  You can turn all who stand against us into ash!”

“Yeah, thanks Grog.” Keyleth said with a small sigh, though she couldn't suppress the smile at her friend's enthusiasm.  It was hard not to be happy among her friends and family, especially now that it seemed that, despite their relatively short time together, it was getting a little bigger if the way Giselle and Neria’s close proximity to the rest of her friends was anything to go by.  Turning her thoughts elsewhere, even as she couldn’t help but see how the dark elf seemed to hover by Percy’s side more and more, Keyleth turned her attention towards the approaching cityscape that was just then passing below them.  “It would be pretty cool to turn into a giant fire tornado.”

“Oh be still my heart.”  Scanlan mock swooned before shooting the druid a wide grin.  “Our little Kiki is growing up folks.”  It was about that time that the skyship came to a slow, lumbering stop, and the crystals that had gotten them all this way slowly wound down, the constant hum in the air falling almost completely silent as the ship hovered but no longer moved forward as it came to a stop within the skydock itself.

“Why are you on this journey though?”  Pike asked, which, admittedly, was a good question that none of them had thought to ask truth be told.  As such, when Keyleth looked up, a strange, unreadable look on her face, Pike started to open her mouth to ask what was wrong.  She didn’t get that chance however.

“Because originally my mother was supposed to be our next leader, but she never returned.”  Keyleth replied and lowered her head almost as quickly.  “We don’t know why or how, only that when she was supposed to come home, she never did, so the task fell to me take up the mantle.”  The silence that fell was immediate and complete, needless to say as the weight of Keyleth’s words hit them all.

“Oh….”  Grog was the first to voice their suddenly very altered opinions on Keyleth’s Aramente, that had took a very personal turn given the revelation in the space of a single statement.

While all this was going on, the ship and her crew carried on without hesitation.  No sooner had the ship settled into its place did Captain Damon start shouting orders to his crew.  While no one could blame him, the fact he was all too eager to be rid of Vox Machina and their new allies wasn’t lost on the more perceptive of the group.  “All hands on the stern and bow lines!  Hey, look lively there!  Damn greenhorn, shoulda thrown ya over the side!  Yes, that one, the one I'm pointing at!”  He bellowed to the very confused, but smiling, halfling he had spared.  And try as he might, despite the fact she and her former allies had tried to murder him and his crew, the captain couldn’t help but feel his lips twitch as Tyrah, as he had come to learn, did her best in repaying the debt owed for his sparing her as he had.

“We weren't that bad were we?”  Neria asked quietly and looked at the other members of their little group.

“Well, we  _ did  _ mess up his… Mess with our food fight.  So there is that.”  Keyleth was quick to point out, albeit with some level of hesitance as her eyes darted across her friends’ faces one by one.

“Personally I'm glad to be off that confined flying deathtrap.”  Vax muttered even as his sister took one last admiring glance over her shoulder at the vessel.

“That is indeed true your Highness,” Tiberius mused, ignoring Vax, before he shrugged his shoulders, “but it was a harmless bit of fun on our parts.  I had almost forgotten what that was like with all this damned doom and gloom following us at every turn.”

“Not to mention all of those drastically close calls we’ve endured, what with the duergar and that damned beholder.”  Percy was quick to point out.

“That reminds me dear, but I never did ask why you seemed interested in a couple of people called….the Briarwoods was it? While we were still in Emon, planning on how best to deal with that horn we have downstairs yet.”  Vex asked, only to be met by a stone faced glare from the gunslinger.

“I’d rather not talk about that.”  Percy muttered darkly.

“I could stand to hear a bit more.” Giselle told him, her casual tone belaying a stern look that said he had very little choice in the matter.

“Perhaps another time.” He deflected, while polite enough his voice still held a lot of steel behind it, showing anyone that he wouldn't budge on the matter.

“Considering you had black smoke coming out of you, we haven’t really asked what that was about, trusting you with your secrets, but now this comes up and you won’t talk?  That’s one too many secrets for my liking.”  Giselle retorted, not about to back down now that she had gotten something to hold her interest, much to Neria’s internal chagrin.  There was only one way this could end, something she knew yet could do nothing to prevent since her friend was oftentimes too stubborn for her own good.

“I’d be careful what you ask, because I could bring up something relating to yourself I know Pike overheard.”  Percy retorted, far more harshly than he had intended, but when it came to his personal affairs, he had no intention of sharing until, and if, he was ever ready to do so.

Giselle’s gaze narrowed as she seemed to reconsider the usually extremely polite gunslinger.  To Neria’s eternal amazement however, the ranger backed off with a silent nod of her head.  “Alright, but I want an explanation, and I believe your friends will want the same themselves.”  Percy winced at the subtle slight she had managed to squeeze into her otherwise neutral comment.  ‘His friends’, which obviously hadn’t included herself.  Before he could apologize, or come up with some way to take back what he had said, a polite, quiet cough, more to get their undivided attention, cut through the silence that had fallen.

When they turned towards the recently lowered gangplank that now connected the dock to the skyship, the group saw the second most odd pair of people they had seen to date.  “Ahem, I’m sorry to interrupt, but I’m afraid we can not allow you to pass without hearing us out first.”  A towering black armored knight said, spear and shield in hand though relaxed and a sword at his left hip.

“Yup, what he said.”  When Percy’s hand started to go for the pistol at his side, the gray skinned half orc beat him to the punch as he drew his own sidearm with a deadly looking gleam on his otherwise cheerful looking face.  “Now think real hard, this ain’t gotta end in bloodshed Spectacles.  We’re just after that little horn of yours and we’ll be outta your hair and you can be on your merry.”

“The horn?  How do you know of it?”  Kima demanded angrily and gripped her great maul tightly, and glared at the pair with narrowed eyes.  “You will not get it while I still stand.”

“Peace, there is no need for bloodshed.”  The knight proclaimed calmly, his voice barely above a whisper. “But this horn must be destroyed. It cannot be allowed to exist any longer. For sooner or later, its corruption will spread.”

“And we’re supposed to take the word of two strangers that just happen to know about something only a handful of people are supposed to know about?”  Giselle asked, her brown eyes narrowed to slits as she stood beside Percy, despite having just been at odds with the nobleman not moments ago.

“Ah, you must be the flesh of Daermon N'a'shezbaernon that has been mentioned by Ioun.  I-I did not see you.”  The dark knight said, sounding rather unsettled towards the end of his vague explanation.  He didn’t get a chance to speak further, because Giselle had since seemed to blur almost out of sight as she closed the gap between him and the half orc in the next span of heartbeats, her blades’ tips stopping just shy of their respective necks.

“Only a handful of people know that name, one of which I haven’t seen since the day I was born.  So I’m going to ask you, very slowly, how you know it.”  The steel in her voice was only matched by the steel now pointed towards the two individuals in front of her.  To add to the very real threat, she nudged both of their heads upwards a little.  At the same time, Neria and the rest of Vox Machina followed Giselle’s example and pulled their respective weapons or charged their spells in the case of Keyleth, Scanlan, and Tiberius.

“Your name?  I only know the name of your House, drow.  And it was given to me.”  The knight replied, still sounding disturbingly calm for someone who had a sword at their throat. “I have killed your kind before, you know as well as I that only fools would trust your kind, yet your companions under the banner of the speaking machine do not appear to be fools.  This and the fact that you were mentioned in the prophecy makes me believe that I should judge you by your actions, and not by those of your plundering and cruel kin.”

“They are not my  _ kin _ , and I gave up my so called  _ House  _ the moment I knew what they were, what they still are, just like my father did long before me.”  Giselle growled through gritted teeth, yet she backed off, and while she kept her blades out of their sheaths, she had since pulled them away from their necks without cutting them in the slightest.

“Then why are you upset by a name that means nothing to you?”  The man asked sounding genuinely curious for one that had just had a scimitar’s deadly tip pressed against his jugular.

“Maybe don't antagonize the positively stunnin’ and very ill tempered drow so much.”  The half orc was quick to stage whisper to his friend, while he couldn’t help but see how the pretty wood elf kept giving him strangely dark looks even as she put a hand on her dark skinned friend’s arm.  There was a story and a half there, he’d bet his last shiny gold piece on that being the case.

“Don’t worry, we will not die today.  At least not by their hand, if we do then only because of our clumsiness against those that desire the horn for more nefarious purposes.” Was the dry reply the orcish gunslinger got in return.

“See somethin’ you like darlin’?”  Malvos asked with an annoyed roll of his grey eyes as the amber haired wood elf continued to give him what could only be described as a hatred fueled death glare.  She wouldn’t have been the first he had come across that had given him dirty looks, but she was the first that Malvos had seen for some time that had looked so….intense.  “What?  Wait, if you happen to be some treasured, yet unfortunately forgotten, one night stand, well I truly do apologize for not leavin’ a flower on the pillow.”

The vehement response that fell from the wood elf’s lips had even her own companions giving the cleric, for only a cleric would wear so many obvious religious paraphernalia on their armor as well as a matching pendant around her neck, worried glances as they sheathed their respective weapons now that it looked like they weren’t about to kill him and Fenix on the spot.  “I do not make it a habit of lying with  _ animals _ .”  The wood elf spat out, her hand straying to the sword on her hip at the same time.  Only the halfling paladin of Bahamut at her side seemed to understand the depths of the wood elf’s hatred, as did the dark elf at her side for that matter.

Something Fenix and Malvos took note of in their respective ways.  “Regardless of your…  _ opinions _ of us, none of you have an idea of what you truly face.  I offer you a bargain, we will help you in disposing those that have infiltrated the city in hopes of getting the horn. In return for our services, you will give the horn to me so that it may be destroyed. You can bear witness to it if you insist but it must be destroyed.” The black armored knight said tightly. The way he spat opinions was enough to make it obvious what he thought of the remark as was his glare that was concealed by his helmet.

“And you know what we face?”  Neria spat back with a scoff, glare never leaving the half orc.

“Yes, for I have foreseen it.” He replied slowly before a little distaste creeped into his voice. “To make it easy for  _ you  _ to understand, the corruption of the horn is like a tree, you can cut away its branches, even cut it to the ground, but it will grow again, ever stronger.”

“We had planned to seal it away for all eternity.”  Kima stated, and held up a hand so that the others behind her wouldn’t interrupt just yet.  “But if you can prove you can destroy this thing we’ve brought all this way, to be sealed with the Temple of Bahamut I hail from, then we will….reconsider our course.”

The knight nodded, having shared a subtle glance with his companion before returning his helmeted gaze on the halfling.  “This spear is no mortal weapon, it was given to me with the single purpose of cleansing the world of such evil, paladin of Bahamut. As for your idea of sealing it within the temple… you must realise that it may be stolen in time or worse… corrupt the worshipers of your god.”

“Unlikely, you haven’t seen the Vault that we’d be housing it within.  The very temple itself is a holy site unlike many of the others here in Vasselheim.  The horn would not have any sway once it was inside the chamber, where it would be forever protected and its magics silenced.”  Kima replied, so utterly confident in the power of the Vault and the power of her god in stopping the horn from reaching out beyond its prison that most people would have found it hard to argue with her.

But the knight didn’t seem like most people.  “And you haven't seen a vision of a future where the streets of this very city run thick with blood because of this artifact.” He retorted evenly and shook his head. “I only wish to prevent further suffering the likes of which you would do best not to even attempt to imagine.”

“You might want to play down the creepy fortune teller part Fenix, just sayin’.”

“No….I can attest to having visions of my own.”  All eyes fell on Neria then, save for Giselle who already knew what she was talking about.  “I know such divine messages are real, that they are foolish to ignore.  Although….I suspect our methods of seeing and inducing these divine messages are decidedly different, and not just because we worship different gods.”

“Indeed Lady Neria Zathral, child of the woods and sorrow.”  Fenix intoned, relaxing slightly now that the tension had started to bleed out of the immediate area.

“He does that.” Malvos explained as the elf finally stopped glaring at him before giving his friend a quizzical glance.  Slowly putting his gun back into its holster when his human counterpart did the same, the half orc crossed his arms over his chest, seeming the picture of easy confidence now.  “My mysterious friend aside darlin’, we have a vested interest in seein’ people safe.  Ya sure we can’t at least get along for a couple hours, see that damned thing sent back to whatever dark hole it crawled out of?”

“Considering that the mere sight of you, not to mention your foul stench, makes me want to vomit that's highly doubtful.”

“Neria.”  Giselle shot back, and gave her long time friend a look that could have said more than a thousand words put together.  The cleric bowed her head and looked away, and spoke no further as Giselle slowly turned to face the pair.

The knight merely tightened his grip on his spear and shield and shook his head.  “I was hoping that one who is aware of the importance of visions would understand. It seems that you are unable to look past your selfish reasons and rather would see all of Vasselheim drown in blood. If that is your wish so be it. We will leave, but remember this. You will only know sorrow for your choices this day.” With that he turned around and began to walk away with long steps.

“No, we don’t want to see this city destroyed.  But you are asking us to take a lot on faith.”  Giselle countered calmly as she called out to the knight, once she was sure that Neria would no longer be a problem.

“And I am having a conversation with a drow.” The knight retorted darkly. “I think it would be our right to be suspicious as well, yet we are not. Something to consider.”

“Yeah, can't have that, now can we?”  Malvos muttered as he gave the dark elf and her companion a dismissing wave of his gun hand. “Lady dislikes me so much, I'm happy to keep my distance.  We don't got time to deal with her shit right now.”

“You make a valid point, both of you.”  Vax said at last, he and the rest of Vox Machina finally stepping forward.  “You ask us to believe you have the best of intentions and that you want to destroy the horn, saying that the Vault isn’t good enough.  Yet you give us no proof that you can do as you claim.  As for you,” this he directed at Neria and Giselle, although the rogue’s gaze was more fully on the wood elf, “you need to put your differences aside.  I get that something happened to you when you were much younger, but they’ve been at least friendly with us.  Besides, we took a chance with you and your companion, knowing full well what she was.  Do not make us regret taking you along.”

“True, yet I offered you to bear witness to its destruction.” The knight retorted sharply. “I know of others who wouldn't have hesitated to slaughter you where you stand to prevent any form of corruption. You should be grateful that they are not aware of this.  I give you one last warning.  If you dismiss us and face your foes… not all of you will survive this day.”

“There’s an easy way to settle this.”  Kima stated, and she too gave Neria a look that was far softer, yet no less pointed in its own right before turning back towards Fenix and Malvos.  “If you say that there’s danger at the temple, then we’ll see for ourselves, together, if what you say is true.  If the Temple of Bahamut has been compromised, we’ll know when we arrive.  If not, then the horn goes in the Vault, as had been originally been planned, and we leave it at that.”

“That is… acceptable.”  Fenix conceded with a small nod, quiet voice still full of frost.

While Neria said nothing, the quiet acceptance in her blue eyes said she was also agreeable.  Vex however wasn’t so quick to remain silent as she pushed to the front of the group, Trinket in tow.  “Well, if we’re all going to be friendly with each other, can we at least get a name from you two?  You seem to know us after all.”

“My name is Fenix, he is Malvos, as for yours, I only know that you are under the banner of the speaking machine.”  The knight replied with a barely noticeable shrug.

“Vox Machina.”  Scanlan corrected the man, but shrugged in turn  “It was either that or the SHITS.  I was outvoted.”

“Spirits be praised for that.”  Keyleth muttered as she put a hand on Neria’s shoulder, the other wrapped firmly around her staff.

“Gotta tough job?  Get the SHITS.”  Malvos said with a smirk, much to Scanlan’s delight.

“Finally, someone who understands my genius.”  Scanlan cheerfully explained, much to the chagrin and shame of his fellows.  Even Grog groaned in sympathy at the horrible name that had thankfully not become commonly used among them.

“Yeah, can see why it never caught on.” Malvos muttered to himself, hands still close to his holsters.  “So, we gonna get a move on or we gonna take in the pretty sights from up here?  Me, I got no problem lookin’, but lookin’ gets borin’ after a while.  I could think of a few dozen things I’d rather do more anyhow.”

“Yes, let’s move on.”  Giselle was quick to agree before Neria got the chance to fire off another loaded comment.  Besides, from the little less than subtle glare she threw at Percy, Neria wasn’t the only one wanting to get this business over with as quickly as possible.  Thankfully, the scale bearers had since brought the horn’s container out of the cargo hold, and were ready to move upon a signal from Kima.  With the rest of Vox Machina spreading out around them from there, Vex and Keyleth taking to the rooftops, the latter turning into an eagle to scout out the lay of the land from above while Vex clumsily made her way on foot.  Vax meanwhile seemed to utterly disappear altogether into the crowd, his senses on high alert for anyone that took more than a passing interest in their admittedly strange procession through Vasselheim’s streets.

That left Trinket, Tiberius, Percy, Pike, Giselle, Neria, Scanlan, Fenix, Malvos, and Grog to follow after Kima and the scale bearers themselves.  “Thinkin’ we might want to split up, cover more ground that way.  And then maybe not every single set of eyes round here will be aimed at our less than inconspicuous selves.”  Malvos let out a low growl when Fenix raised an eyebrow.  “What?  I read, occasionally.”

And since it was a fairly long walk between the skyport and the Temple of Bahamut, it didn’t take long for the goliath to give Neria, Giselle, and Percy more than a few curious glances with Pike at his side.  “So uh….when did you two start glarin’ at each other?”  He hesitantly began, only to receive a stony glare from Giselle for his efforts.  Turning to Pike, Grog could only scratch the back of his head in confusion.  “What?  I was just asking.”

“Ask Pike, she was the one that decided to eavesdrop on a private conversation.”  Giselle muttered in response, before she sighed and hung her head a little before looking over her shoulder towards the gnome in question.  “So I take it you know about my curse then.”

“I do, but I was far more concerned  _ for  _ you rather than  _ about  _ you.”  Pike stated immediately, even as the rest of the group gave Giselle a number of curious glances in turn.

“Curse?”  Scanlan asked, “You mind filling the rest of the class in Pike?”

“Yes, a curse.” Giselle bit out bitterly. “One I can thank my  _ dear _ mother for.”  This she directed at Fenix. “And you wanted to know why I forsook my House and name?  That was reason enough on its own, but since we’re on the subject, everyone here can guess what most Drow are, either here or where myself and Neria originally hail from.  Doesn’t matter that this isn’t our original world, Drow are reviled just as much here, and for pretty much the same reasons, because of  _ Lolth _ .”  The sheer venom in Giselle’s voice would have been enough to scald someone’s face right off of their skull as she spat out the name of the infamous Queen of Spiders herself.

Malvos wisely stepped in before anyone else could further get them away from the task at hand, which was getting rid of the horn.  “Okay, creepy story bondin’ time over.  How exactly do we plan to get the drop on these bungers anyway?  Not like we can just waltz right on in.... Wait a minute.  Hey, silver armor lady, mind workin’ a distraction for us?”

“Assuming that the Temple is indeed compromised you mean?”  Kima asked, but nodded her head in agreement all the same.  “What did you have in mind?”

“Fifty gold bettin’ that it is.  As for the plan, you waltz your shiny bottom in there, claiming to have the horn, and we’ll see how they react.” Malvos shot back without missing a beat, grinning, apparently quite proud of himself.

“Oh, is that all?  Me, alone, against an unknown number of potential enemies?”  Kima asked, and while she wasn’t afraid, she had stared down a beholder and a small army of mind flayers before being turned to stone, there was a difference between bravery and being downright stupid.  The plan laid at her feet was far more stupid in her less than humble opinion.

“Well, you and those two strappin’ meat shields you got tottin’ that box.  And I seen the way your big friendly goliath’s been lookin’ at ya.  Eh big guy?”  Grog chuckled and blushed a little at the comment directed his way as he nodded.  Malvos grinned in response as Kima cleared her throat at the insinuation.  “Figured as much darlin’.  Then, once they open up, you send me and anyone sneaky like in after ‘em to watch their backs, while the rest of you fine folks wait for the signal.  Once you got it, charge in and start hitting anyone not us.”

“And this signal would be what exactly?” Kima asked with just a hint of annoyance creeping into her voice.

“How about screaming ‘Shit!  Crazy assholes wanna murder us!’?”  Malvos replied with a face splitting smirk on his gray skinned face.

“Nah, too long.  How about ‘Fuck shit up’?” Grog suggested enthusiastically and grinned at the half orc.

“Nice.” Malvos said with an appreciative nod. “I like it.”

“Jenga.”  Vax stated, scaring Neria since he had seemed to appear right behind the cleric.  “We stick with something simple.”

It was then that Keyleth flew down and transformed once she had touched down.  Standing to her feet, the druid dusted off her green robes from the mud and dirt of the road.  “I did a pass of the temple, but the few windows there are have been covered up.  I couldn’t see anything inside, but I got a bad feeling about the place.  Something’s not right.”

“Let's not make any assumptions… we are almost there anyway.  We’ll soon see for ourselves.”  The halfling Paladin retorted tersely.

Giselle wasn’t so easily convinced however, and nodded to Keyleth.  “I don’t like it either.  Maybe we’d be better off leaving the horn on the ship with the scale bearers?”

“That's the genius part, leave the horn, take the scales.  They see Kima here walking up by her lonesome, well I'd be mighty suspicious if I was them.” Malvos said and shook his head impatiently at the suggestion.

“It was just a suggestion.”  Percy retorted, even as Giselle gave him a look that said she didn’t like him speaking for her.  Ignoring the glance she threw his way, the noble gunslinger gave his far more brutish counterpart a disapproving glare.  “It’s certainly better than giving them the very thing they’re after if we happen to end up dead, or maybe that’s your intention?”

“Little prick is smitten I'd say.  Good for you, not a chance in the hells you’re her type, but I like your gumption.”

“Ah yes, a brilliant deduction.  We warn you of a possible ambush with the intention of aiding the ambushers.  Truly that is the course of action that makes the most sense.”  Fenix retorted sarcastically and scoffed.  “Don't let your personal dislike cloud your judgment, gunslinger, or the darkness you hold within yourself for that matter.”

“Poppycock.  All this chest thumping and bravado is getting us absolutely nowhere.  If Lady Kima wishes to investigate the temple post haste, I say we do it.  And if our surly companion is right, well we best have that damned horn as far from their foul clutches as possible.” Tiberius proclaimed with an annoyed eyeroll at the antics around him.

“At least there is one thing we can agree on.” Fenix replied to the red scaled dragonborn with a respectful nod.

In short order, despite some grumbling from Kima, Tiberius was allowed, once again, to transport the horn via telekinesis, returning it to the Bag of Holding. “There, now we just need someone, that would be you Grog, to take it back to the airship.”

“You get all that buddy?  Oh and make sure you only tell Captain Damon.”  Vax added, imagining Grog boasting to the entire crew about the relic of unspeakable evil in the Bag over his shoulder.

“Now, let me get this straight.  Run to the ship. Give Captain Damon the Bag.  Make sure Damon doesn’t fly off on us either.  Run back.  That's it?”  Grog asked once the horn was safely tucked away in his Bag at his side.

“That’s actually right big guy.”  Vax confirmed with a nod of his head, a little surprised that Grog had been smart enough to think about keeping Damon from flying off by mistake before they could get the horn back, one way or the other.  “We’ll wait for you in the meantime.  Wouldn’t want ya to miss out on all the fun.”  Grog needed no further incentive as he left a trail of dust in his wake that quickly disappeared, almost as fast as the goliath’s long, powerful stride had propelled the barbarian in question.

“Five minutes!  Don't you dare kill anybody until I get back!”  Grog shouted with an almost pleading look over his massive shoulder, as he recklessly charged towards the makeshift skyport.

“So we are going to use this… plan.  Is that it?”  Neria asked skeptically and looked at the faces of her companions once Grog had disappeared in his mad dash back to the ship.

“If it makes you feel better, I don’t like the idea much either, but it’s better than simply walking in all at once, and allowing them to take us out if they have indeed taken the temple as those two say.”  Vax said and nodded towards Fenix and Malvos.  “We’ve done far more with far less, Neria.”

“If that was supposed to be reassuring, it….worked.”  She admitted, and nodded, showing that while she didn’t like it still, she was willing to follow his lead if nothing else.

“I’d like to accompany Lady Kima into the temple.” Fenix announced softly and looked at the halfling in question.  “While my bearing is different, it isn't too far off for them to think of me as part of your guard.”

“Let us go then.”  Kima stated, and started forward, making it clear she didn’t wish to waste anymore time as the great Temple of Bahamut finally came into sight.  Unlike most of the other temples scattered about Vasselheim, Bahamut’s temple, the Platinum Sanctuary as she told them, was far simpler in its adornment yet no less impressive in other ways.  It was old, very old, far older than most of the city put together, with base draconic script etched upon its walls.  Such words like ‘Honor’ and ‘Justice’, could be seen upon its surface, and the very air itself felt….at least to the clerics and paladins, exceptionally divine and potent in its own right.  Those with a connection to the divine as strong as theirs made it apparent that no evil would be allowed within its walls without a fight.

Grog came charging back towards the group, having actually managed to break a sweat, desperate not to miss out on the possible chance to murder something.  “Hah, made it!  Told ya I could do it in five minutes..... why are you all spinning?”  Grog asked as his oxygen deprived brain made him gasp for air.  Holding up a hand, the goliath wheezed and panted, his head bowed and his other hand resting on his knee as he tried to regain his sense of equilibrium.  No easy task, but after a few minutes, Grog was no longer ready to fall over from a stiff breeze.

While this was going on, the other members of the group took precautions and measures of their own for the fight ahead.  “Here Lady Kima, please do try not to lose it.”  Tiberius told the armored halfling as he placed a Whisper Earring in her palm, concern evident in his voice.  “Best we should all have at least one.”

Kima put on the magical earring with a nod of thanks, grinning up at the worried draconian.  “Thank you Tiberius, I'll be careful.

Fenix for his part silently moved next to the scale bearers, as if he already knew where he needed to be for their little ruse.  Malvos just shrugged at the quizzical looks he got in return. “He does that too.”

Dispersing to the four winds around the temple, the rest of Vox Machina watched and waited from various vantage points around the building, ready to move the moment the word was given.  Lady Kima meanwhile looked to the scale bearers, and gave Fenix one last glance before pulling out pendant from beneath her armor before holding it up towards the massive stone doors in front of them.  Muttering a prayer underneath her breath, or an incantation, a gray, platinum light emanated from the doors, as it did from the dragon headed pendant made of the same metal, before the doors opened of their own accord.  “Well, here goes.”  Kima muttered uneasily, as she too noticed something….amiss in the air now that they could see into the temple proper.

The group slowly made their way into the temple trying to look not overly suspicious, though it wasn't easy. For those that could sense it the formerly pure and divine aura seemed… tainted. Like something or someone else had done their best to hide behind its presence but failed to truly disguise the darkness they had brought with them.

“Something is not right.”  Kima muttered so quietly that only those with another whisper earring could hear her.  When she looked towards Fenix, she somehow wasn’t all that surprised when the armored knight simply looked on, as if he wasn’t at all surprised by what he had foretold.

“I hate it when I am correct.”  He simply stated, almost inaudible to her ears.  “The world would be far more peaceful if I were wrong.”

“Kima, just play it natural.  We'll stay within earring range at all times. .... Relax, and try not to look like you're expecting an ambush at any second.” Vax told her over the earring, his voice tense and not at all reassuring her.  Still, it was better than nothing given the circumstances they were willingly walking into.

She gave no audible reply, merely nodded once even though she knew that he couldn't see it.  Then she turned towards her loyal scale beares and with a series of hand gestures told them, to expect trouble, and to continue on.

Despite the tense situation they found themselves in, Fenix couldn’t help but look up towards the high ceiling of one chamber they entered, and marvel at the mosaic of what the Bahumut worshipers believed to be the creation of the world, as well as that of the planes of existence.  Along with the history, the eternal battle between the Platinum Dragon and Tiamat, the multi headed dragon of destruction himself.  “To know your place in the grand scheme of things….it would be a comfort for many, but I know my destiny too well.”

The halfling sent him a concealed glance filled with confusion for she felt that he hadn't meant for her to hear it. Regardless of that, she did not know what to make of his comment.  It was then that Kima noticed several guards, while dressed in the silver blue armor of the temple, started to approach, hands on their weapons.  “There's too many, a normal greeting should only be from the High Paladin and two guards.  And where is the High Seeker?”

“Lady Kima of Vord?”  The apparent leader of this group asked, friendly enough, but something in the human’s gaze, the way it kept flicking towards the container, didn’t sit well with any of them.

“I am.  And who are you?”  Kima asked, her hands resting at her sides, yet only a moment would be required to bring out her great maul in a combat ready stance.  She was ready, and a quick glance towards her companions said they were just as prepared as she was.

“I bid you welcome Lady Kima, we have heard much of your exploits.” The man replied pleasantly though he failed to answer her question, his gaze wandering of those that stood with her. It seemed utterly disinterested until his eyes found Fenix’s armored form.  For a few moments, he stared at the black clad knight in silent shock, then, two words escaped his lips. “You… Bane-”

“Jenga.”  Fenix didn't wait for one more moment, his spear shot towards the man but was deflected in the last moment by his opponent. While it missed his intended target, he still managed to slit one of the guards throats with an expert twirl of his deadly weapon.  Aside from the signal for his friends, which translated to him gesturing to Kima which really wasn’t necessary given she had heard the softly spoken word, let alone seen how easily Fenix had struck down their first opponent, the knight didn't speak, fighting in utter silence against the leader of the imposters and all others that attacked them.


End file.
